Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says he was petrified as his team's bus was pelted with stones upon arrival at Marseille's Stade Velodrome on Sunday.
The Lyon team bus was left with a broken window and minor damage after the assault en route to the team's Ligue 1 encounter with Marseille, which ended goalless.
"I was at the front of the bus. A paving stone came through the window," Aulas, 67, said. "There were a lot of people hitting the bus with tools, some grabbed onto it, and the police had to use tear gas. It has nothing to do with real Marseille supporters, who know how to behave. Everyone was very, very afraid."
Aulas had initially tweeted: "It was a real assault. The OL coach was targeted with causing real damage and broken glass that could have injured players."
Le bus des Lyonnais caillassé sur la route du Vélodrome... #OMOL pic.twitter.com/GJQzliaBG2
- Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) September 18, 2016
Police made 11 arrests around the Stade Velodrome for a variety of offences.
Meanwhile, Lyon boss Bruno Genesio has said he made the "right choice" not to sign free agent Emmanuel Adebayor.
The former Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur striker, 32, met Genesio on Friday after flying in from his native Togo.
However, after widely being expected to sign a short-term contract until the end of the season, he was finally told his participation in the 2017 African Nations Cup and ineligibility for the Champions League meant the deal would not be completed.
Adebayor called Lyon's reasoning "a ridiculous excuse" and stated his surprise that he had been asked whether he was married and had children during the face-to-face meeting.
Genesio replied after Sunday's game: "If all he remembers of what I said to him during our interview was that I asked him if he was married, I made the right choice.
"I need a united squad and players who want to do things together. I'm sorry he took the interview badly, I didn't at all want to show a lack of respect."
Adebayor had also claimed Genesio was "scared" of Florian Maurice, Lyon's director of recruitment, because the OL coach had allegedly replied he would have to ask Maurice if he could agree to the potential new signing's request to take a look around the club's new Parc OL stadium.
"As for Florian Maurice, I am absolutely not afraid of him," Genesio said. "We're very good friends, and we work well together."