As soon as the bus arrived, the tone was set, but not in the most beautiful way. Far from the festive atmosphere of the PRO D2 final between the two teams. USAP supporters have been kept out and were asked not to enter the stadium.
It is in the midst of Biarritz supporters that the USAP players descended and from that moment Mathieu Acébès was targeted: “Acebes in the dungeon“, they mysteriously began to sing in chorus. a flood of insults to the captain of the USAP.
During the match, it didn’t stop. Along the sideline, Mathieu Acébès looked several times in the direction of the stands. Insults, incessant, boring, humiliating for rugby, have continued to spring up.
Until the end, a minority (fortunately) of supporters did not let go of the original Basque captain. Mathieu Acébès is the last player to leave the lawn, forced to give a thumbs-up, surely of disappointment, towards the stand and a handful of die-hards who, despite the defeat, kept him as a target.
The unease was palpable in the gallery, the indignation too. At the exit of the locker room, some young worthy supporters of the BO waited for Mathieu Acébès and went to apologize to him, dissociating himself from all the words he could hear throughout this Basque afternoon.
“I find that very stupid.”
Mathieu Acébès
In the meantime, at a press conference, Mathieu Acébès wanted to react: “The climate was hostile. We felt it on arrival at the stadium. I was insulted the whole game in front of my family. I wore the jersey of this club and I think you have to be respectful. You can encourage a team but insult for free like that was the case, I find that average. I do not of course put all the Biarritz supporters in the lot but let those concerned know that I find that very stupid.“
Enraged guys
“I tried to get over it, but for 80 minutes it’s mad guys saying really naughty things that I never would have said and yet I have character. If someone wants to insult me, come and do it to me at the end of the one-on-one match. The Biarritz supporters were wrong and the Biarritz also on the field, they left the match and we stayed in ours.“
“Conversely, the Catalan public is often criticized but I want to thank them. I found his attitude fantastic and we saw in the faces of these people a huge passion and that marks me and it marks a season. “
In the end, Mathieu Acébès’ day is positive. He who had spoken once again of character before the meeting linked actions to words on the ground. The USAP struggled and did not give up in Biarritz to snatch this precious victory. A valiant USAP, who never gives up, Mathieu Acébès is its captain!