René Malleville, historical supporter of Olympique de Marseille, is dead

Olympique de Marseille announced Sunday, September 19 the death of René Malleville, a figure of the Stade-Vélodrome and Marseille supporterism, former municipal councilor and trade unionist, who over the years has become a media personality.

“Much more than a supporter. It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of René Malleville ”, wrote on his Twitter account OM. René Malleville was 73 years old. He had announced several weeks ago on Twitter that he was suffering from cancer. “Think well that I am not at the best, I embrace you all”, he wrote again on Wednesday.

“Day of mourning a match day. René Malleville, one of OM’s most emblematic supporters, has just left us. He will have made us vibrate, laugh and cry. He was the spokesperson for thousands of supporters. We already miss her voice. Ciao René ”, wrote on Twitter the mayor of the city, Benoît Payan. “Supporter among supporters, tireless defender of OM, he gave his time, his energy and his soul for our club. There will be sadness in the Stade-Vélodrome this afternoon ”, for his part added Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional council.

A thunderous supporter of OM

Even if he had become a true symbol of Marseille and supporters of OM, René Malleville, born in Aude, did not arrive in the city of Provence until the age of 10. There he was a welder, then a bus driver at the Marseille Transport Authority (RTM), where he was a very committed trade unionist, before converting himself into a bar owner. He was also municipal councilor to Mayor Gaston Defferre, from 1977 to 1983.

A thunderous supporter of OM, shoulder-length hair, blue eyes and tall verb, he was successively a member of the Yankees and then of the Dodgers, two of the club’s main groups of supporters. For more than fifteen years, he appeared in various media as a columnist, in particular on the Marseille site The Phocaean, where his “Minute de René” was an expected meeting, between analysis of the life of OM, outbursts full of banter, local accent and very personal vocabulary.

As soon as the announcement of his death, many tribute messages were published on social networks, from supporters and local journalists. Valentin Rongier, OM midfielder, posted a photo of Malleville accompanied by the message “RIP”.