This is a very unwelcome episode as France records nearly 3,400,000 positive cases for the coronavirus.
Wednesday evening, dozens of guests were able to attend the Coupe de France meeting between Caen and PSG (0-1) from the boxes of the Norman stadium.
Glasses in hand for some, masks under the chin for others, these Stade Malherbe partners have sometimes loudly expressed their presence and support for their favorite team.
For followers accustomed to watching games without an audience since the start of the season, this scene had something unreal in the midst of curfew and while the game was scheduled behind closed doors.
The Calvados prefecture, which we contacted this Thursday, confirmed to us that the regulatory framework has not changed.
"Professional matches are played behind closed doors and the Caen club has no particular exemption," the communication department of the prefecture told us.
Adding that "detailed explanations" were requested from the club following this episode.
"We wanted to make a gesture"
The images of these "spectators" braving the curfew are all the more embarrassing as, among them, several witnesses recognized local or regional elected officials.
The embarrassment was also shared within the Ligue 2 club this Thursday morning.
Olivier Pickeu, the new president, did not try to hide the error of Stade Malherbe.
“We arrived at the club at the end of September and we had never been able to thank the partners who did not let us go in the midst of the pandemic, he told us.
So, yes, we wanted to make a gesture.
But we had already taken a lot of precautions by disinfecting all the dressing rooms and changing rooms using a robot.
In addition, it was in an open-air box called Le Salon des Etoiles, and we asked for social distancing which was respected.
"
Not always and not all the time… We witnessed a gathering at the start of the meeting where Olivier Pickeu addressed his guests gathered around him, some of them again without masks.
Caen is not the only club to act in this way
“What people took for a crowd lasted thirty seconds when I went up to a box to greet them.
Mechanically, people gathered around me but it did not last, explains the former sports director of Angers.
We didn't do things by cheating.
We even provided a certificate to justify exceeding the curfew.
I am really sorry for this controversy and annoyed to see the proportions it is likely to take.
The situation is complex and we have never wanted to gain privileges or take reckless risks.
"
Even the presidential platform was well stocked Wednesday evening.
/ LP / Olivier Corsan
Present at the stadium for the meeting, the Sports Assistant of the city of Caen recognizes an overcrowding of places.
“Yesterday, I noticed that there were a little more people because there was a little more noise.
I was not aware of this initiative but I am sure that the club did not think badly, explains Aristide Olivier.
Usually the club is exemplary with the closed doors.
I represent the town hall during matches and I can attest to it.
As I am also sure it will not happen again.
"
Pass rights in many clubs
If it won't happen again, it has already happened.
Every weekend, many Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs do not hesitate to give their VIP privileges in their boxes with the libations that go with it.
Most of the time, this is done with complete discretion.
And catering services and staff are not even called upon for these services.
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Faced with serious financial difficulties due in particular to the discontinuation of Mediapro and the lack of revenue, the clubs are thus trying to reward the partners who remain loyal to them.
Even if it means making a mistake by defying the health rules decreed by the government.
The Ministry of Sports told us that it "expects the French Football Federation to be vigilant in the proper application of protocols, and the clubs to be respectful of them."
"We will remind the federation", specifies the entourage of Roxana Maracineanu, the Minister for Sports.