Affaire Tapie

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The scandal began when Bernard Tapie asked Marseille player Jean-Jacques Eydelie to act as a conduit to bribe Valenciennes players Glassmann, Robert, and Burruchaga. In his 2006 book, Eydelie recalled Tapie saying, 'It is imperative that you get in touch with your former Nantes team-mates at Valenciennes... We don't want them acting like idiots and breaking us before the final with Milan.' On 19 May 1993, Robert spoke to Eydelie and later to Bernès; Glassmann refused the bribe, but Robert and Burruchaga accepted. Robert convinced the Valenciennes team to deliberately lose the match. The next day, Marseille won 1–0 on a goal by Alen Bokšić. At halftime, Glassmann told Valenciennes manager Boro Primorac about the bribe, and during the second half he told referee Jean-Marie Véniel. Police entered the Marseille locker room after the match. Two weeks later, Robert admitted his role to magistrate Éric de Montgolfier; detectives found F250,000 in his aunt's back garden. Tapie claimed it was a loan for a restaurant, but Robert later admitted it was bribe money. Eydelie and Bernès were arrested for 'active corruption'; Robert was arrested in Périgueux; Robert's wife Marie-Christine admitted collecting the bribe and was charged with conspiracy.

In Their Own Story

The archive room was quiet, save for the hum of fluorescent lights overhead. An old supporter ran his hand over a faded photograph from Munich, 1993. The smiles on the players were bright, unburdened by what would come next. He looked at the document placed beside it, dated years later, bearing the stamp of a Paris court. It was a heavy piece of paper that weighed more than any trophy. Outside, the Vélodrome stood silent under the Marseille night sky, holding its breath between memory and judgment.

Reader's Guide

The Affaire VA-OM remains the most contentious chapter in Olympique Marseille’s modern history, intertwining financial power with sporting glory. During Bernard Tapie's presidency, the club won four consecutive French Division 1 titles and the 1993 UEFA Champions League, becoming the first French team to win the European Cup. However, the bribery scandal led to the league title being stripped; second-placed Paris Saint-Germain declined it, so no team is classed as winning the 1992–93 title. UEFA prevented Marseille from competing in the 1993–94 Champions League, the 1993 European Super Cup, and the 1993 Intercontinental Cup. The FFF banned Tapie and Bernès for life, and suspended Eydelie, Robert, and Burruchaga. Marseille were forcibly relegated to Division 2 for the 1994–95 season due to the scandal and financial difficulties. At the trial in Valenciennes beginning March 1995, Bernès and Eydelie admitted corruption and blamed Tapie; Bernès alleged bribery was used five to six times a season. The verdict on 15 May 1995 sentenced Tapie to over two years in prison (eight months for match-fixing, eighteen months for fraud) and a ₣20,000 fine. Eydelie got one year, Burruchaga and Robert got six-month suspended sentences, and Bernès got a two-year suspended sentence and a fine. Tapie served six months before conditional release.

Did You Know?

• Jacques Glassmann was awarded the 1995 FIFA Fair Play Award for refusing to partake in the bribe.
• The bribe money was F250,000, found buried in Christophe Robert's aunt's back garden.
• Marseille's league title was stripped by the FFF, but second-placed Paris Saint-Germain declined it, so no team is classed as winning the 1992–93 title.
• Bernard Tapie served six months in prison before being given conditional release.
• Marseille were forcibly relegated to Division 2 for the 1994–95 season due to the scandal and financial difficulties.