From dream to nightmare, Le Cannet-Rocheville has just passed through an emotionally charged week. The joy of pulling OM in the 32nd final of the French Football Cup last Monday, to the puzzle of having to find a stadium to receive the Marseillais. The Maillan stadium in Cannet is not approved to host OM so the small Riviera club, which plays in the fifth division, must find another solution. But the doors have been closing one after the other for a week and time is running out.
The match is scheduled for Sunday December 19 at 1:45 p.m. and Cannet president Emmanuel Stella does not rule out to withdraw to mark the occasion. “The party is ruined. Whatever happens, it will stay. It is not normal for a little thumb to encounter so many obstacles just to organize a meeting that she should receive.“
OM agree to play at the Vélodrome … if Le Cannet pays!
“The situation is hopeless“, even estimates the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Michèle Tabarot, present this Monday morning in town hall of Cannet. Surrounded by the leaders of the club, in front of the press, she exposed all the difficulties encountered. The Allianz Riviera of Nice? That would cost 80,000 euros Reversing the match at the Stade Vélodrome? Le Cannet is in favor, OM is not opposed to it but refuses to pay for the rental of the stadium knowing that the note would reach 350,000 euros. Untenable for the finances of Cannet, which will in any case have to pay 25,000 euros to ensure the security of the match. Is the Louis 2 stadium in Monaco left? “The door is not closed but we started talking later with the ASM. And the Principality’s security services don’t seem really excited about the idea.”
The ball in the camp of the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes
The ideal solution, the one which seems the most logical in any case, would be to play at the Pierre-de-Coubertin stadium in Cannes. Close to Cannet, approved, the stadium hosts the match between AS Cannes and Dijon (Ligue 2) in the Coupe de France the day before. The city and the club of Cannes are moreover in agreement for “to lend“their enclosure in Cannet. On one condition: that the prefecture deploys a sufficiently important security device to prevent any overflows with the supporters of the OM. But the prefecture blocks and considers not to be able to provide such a device. , during this holiday season. “The position of the prefecture is incomprehensible, “for the sports director of Cannet Christian Lopez.”She puts forward arguments for parking, traffic, security … but the day before, she authorized the match between Cannes and Dijon.”
The Martigues and Istres stadiums as fallback solutions …
The difficulty actually lies in the adversary. “If we had shot any other opponent we could have played in our Maillan stadium“, assures Christian Lopez.”The prefecture does not want to see the supporters of OM in the Alpes-Maritimes. All she has to do is forbid them to travel.“At the moment, it is not yet decided. The Istres and Martigues stadiums remain two solutions offered at Cannet. For the moment postponed. Until when ?