Are we heading towards a long list of packages?
Monday, Tourcoing (N 3 Hauts-de-France) and Illkirch (N 3 Grand Est) imitated FC Flers (Regional 1 of Normandy) who had decided on Saturday to withdraw from the 6th round of the Coupe de France in order to protect the integrity of its players deprived of a match since the end of October.
The resumption of competition announced last Tuesday by the Federation left too little time, eleven days, to allow players to regain adequate physical condition for an official meeting.
The clubs also said the government's decision not to allow amateur clubs a waiver to train after the 6 p.m. curfew also weighed in on their decision.
The vast majority of amateur players have, in fact, a professional activity which prevents them from training earlier.
251 amateur clubs and 3 overseas representatives are still in the running before the late matches of the 5th and 6th round scheduled for January 30 and 31.
Other clubs in the region have expressed their disapproval of the resumption of the Coupe de France but for the moment, only FC Flers, Tourcoing and Illkirch have officially announced their withdrawal from the 104th edition.
"The preparation conditions are catastrophic"
In Ile-de-France, opinions remain nuanced among the 19 clubs still in the running.
Last Tuesday, Stéphane Cabrelli, the coach of Linas-Montlhéry (N 3, 5th division), had informed us of his desire to withdraw.
But the Essonnien club should in principle face this Sunday (2 p.m.) the Lusitanos Saint-Maur (N 2).
"This is not what is planned for the moment but we will decide on our participation when the players have carried out the PCR tests (2 or 3 days before the meeting), announces Mickaël Bertansetti, president of Linas-Montlhéry.
If the tests are negative, we will play the game even if we are not happy with it.
The preparation conditions are catastrophic.
We only trained once a week, Saturday, and we will not have any other sessions before our confrontation against the Lusitanos.
"
In Sainte-Geneviève (N 2), we are still thinking about the rest of his adventure in the Coupe de France and his match this Saturday (2 p.m.) in front of Créteil (Nat.).
Last week, the team trained 3 times (Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday), from 3 to 5 p.m.
But not all were able to be present at the three sessions.
“To mark the occasion, it would have been much more effective to all agree and not to play in the Coupe de France because the conditions are not present to be able to play it, believes coach Emmanuel Dorado.
Everyone wants to compete in the Coupe de France but it's dangerous to resume so quickly when we have been arrested since October.
As I don't want to have an accident, we think about it.
We will make a decision at the end of the week with the president, the sporting director and the players, competitors who want to play it but me, I am in the optics of protecting them.
"
In the event of a forfeit, the FFF will not sanction the clubs with a fine or a ban on playing it next season.
