This Wednesday evening, the former international will provide comments from PSG-Dortmund on the antennas of RMC Sport alongside Eric Huet. The particular context of this match behind closed doors will not be a first for Eric Di Meco.
The consultant has already officiated under these conditions, in the fall of 2018, during the Europa League matches between Marseille and Eintracht Frankfurt and the Champions League between Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk. He explains it.
How does it change to comment on a match behind closed doors?
ERIC DI MECO. All. It sounds hollow. We, commentators, are often carried by the atmosphere. Sometimes, even when the match is average, the simple fact of hearing the fervor of a stadium leads you to oversell the match a little. To rise in temperature.
Concretely, what do you expect Wednesday evening at the Park?
It will be sad. Hard. I have already experienced this twice in Marseille, then in Lyon. The only thing is, you have to be even more careful. You hear the players talking to each other if the Parisians communicate in French because many speak Spanish in the workforce of Thomas Tuchel. The coaches' instructions are also audible and there you can react.
Is there some frustration with you as an officer in such conditions?
It's frustrating yes. Clearly, the job is the same, but not the pleasure. I take a huge step to comment on the big games. The Premier League and the Champions League, there is nothing better. In Dortmund, in the first leg, it was huge with this stadium behind, the rhythm set by the Germans, the scenario with the return of PSG, then this goal from Haaland came from nowhere. You catch fire in a comment.
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Are you somehow depriving yourself of your pleasure?
We exercise this profession to live sensations that you can no longer take on the field as a player. Personally, I like to take off my helmet during a match in order to get feedback from the public, especially when I'm in Turkey. What is going on in the stadiums there is crazy. Afterwards, we must not insult the future. The match can be crazy.