This season there will be games postponed because of the cases of Covid-19 in the teams. And those who will argue in front of little or no audience. Ligue 1, which resumes this Friday evening with Bordeaux-Nantes, will have to juggle the health constraints linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. And like any public event, matches will only be able to bring together 5,000 people - players, officials and stadium security staff included - at least until October 30.
Only to be able to make them exceed this gauge: the prefects of department. But for now, all requests for sporting events have been refused, except for that of the ProD2 club of Perpignan, which will be able to accommodate 8,000 people in its stadium on Friday for its preparation match against Colomiers. At the Ministry of Sports, we insist on the exceptional nature of these exemptions, linked to the local progress of the epidemic and to the particular health protocol presented by each club.
"We filed a file at the prefecture, but we do not believe too much, blows a leader of a Ligue 1 team. I also understand their position. We try to give them all the pledges in the world, but we are not able to guarantee them 100% that people will not throw themselves into each other's arms in case of a goal. "
The boycott of the ultras
Within clubs, we also fear being designated as the trigger of a cluster. Nice even decided to play its first match against Lens behind closed doors given the health situation in the region. In its health protocol, the Professional Football League (LFP) already imposes on clubs a certain number of measures to be put in place in its stands: promote the car or the bicycle to bring its supporters, impose the wearing of a mask and enforce social distancing.
“5,000 people is a gross figure that doesn't add up to much. It is not at all the same to exceed this limit in a small stadium as at the Parc des Princes or at the Vélodrome, underlines Marc, spokesperson for the National Association of Supporters (ANS). And when we see all the constraints at the stadium, we can ask ourselves the question if it was really worth it to resume at all costs. "
Within the ultra movement, the very notion of gauge bristles. Several groups, from Bordeaux to Lens via Nantes or Reims, have decided to desert the stands of their stadium for the moment, refusing to choose among their members.
"We need a rotation between subscribers"
Faced with these constraints and the uncertainty of a season under the threat of Covid-19, some clubs have even frozen or given up on launching their subscription campaign, such as OM, OL or Saint-Etienne. For those who have passed the 5,000 subscriber mark - RC Lens has already recorded 20,000 subscriptions - fans will have the opportunity to be reimbursed or to benefit from a credit.
The PSG sent an email to its subscribers a week ago to warn them that they could not have their place "insofar as we are not able to accommodate our entire audience at the Parc des Princes ”. "I really miss the stadium, I hope I will be able to go see a match this season," explains Julien, who has subscribed to Virage Auteuil for five years. At the same time, I am divided: the stadium may be very empty and it will be strange to live. I'm so used to seeing the Park full… ”
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New subscriber to Stade Rennais, Marco hopes above all "that the gauge will change in the coming months. Otherwise, the club must organize a rotation between subscribers so that it is fair ”. A data already integrated by some: in Nîmes, the club has set up a distribution of the prestigious posters of the season among the supporters.