During the round of 16 which saw the elimination of the Marseille club by the Catalan amateurs, the leaders of the first asked for the evacuation of the few spectators present.
The magic of the Coupe de France in times of health crisis is no longer the same. It even gives rise to curious paradoxes. Sunday evening, by eliminating Olympique de Marseille (2-1) in the round of 16, Canet-en-Roussillon achieved a real feat, which modest amateurs had to celebrate in front of the empty stands of the Gilbert-Brutus stadium in Perpignan. Finally, not completely empty because a small fifty people were present and gave voice. A support that had not pleased the… leaders of Marseille obviously.
Indeed, during the meeting, the latter would have requested the evacuation of the stands in order to evolve completely behind closed doors, as revealed by Jordi Delclos, the manager of the Catalan formation, on the airwaves of RMC. “They demanded that the stand be evacuated, that the lawn be mowed, that the ground be watered. We refused all that. We were there to win and make our match. It was out of the question that we wet the ground, it was out of the question that we evacuate the stadium (…) There was a very limited number of accreditations, I did not understand their approach. We did not break through the in camera, we have exactly the number of people authorized. ”
An astonishing approach indeed coming from a professional club, visibly disturbed by a few dozen supporters. The sad symbol, perhaps, that the players quickly lost the habit of evolving in front of an audience, even though all say they hope to be able to welcome again the world in the stands. Without forgetting that the Marseillais had been warmly welcomed that very morning at Perpignan airport by several dozen of their supporters living in Roussillon. And from the moment that no overflow was noted, witnessing a few scenes of joy after the meeting was finally comforting. Like a “light” version of the pre-Covid 19 liesses …
