It is 8:58 p.m. at the Gabriel-Montpied stadium. The banners representing the logos of the two teams are in place. The “We Ready”, now traditional pre-match music, resonates in the speakers, to heat up the stadium. The Clermont-Foot players then enter alone on the lawn, to embark on a lap of honor, arms outstretched in order to make it clear that tonight there will be no football in Clermont-Ferrand.
After a few long moments of hesitation, Jérôme Gallo officially announces what everyone feared: the match is postponed to a later date, due to the thick fog, which disturbs the good performance of the match as much as his vision for the spectators or televiewers. .
A few whistles then testify to the disappointment of the public, for a decision deemed undoubtedly late, while the bad conditions have already persisted since 7:30 p.m.
“In agreement with all parties, it was decided to postpone the match to a later date” – Jérôme Champagne
At the end of the meeting, Jérôme Champagne, advisor to the President of Clermont-Foot, came to explain the protocol that was implemented to make the best possible decision: “From 7:30 p.m., we were in several places of the stadium and obviously the visibility conditions were more than reduced. The television cameras did not make it possible to fully ensure the proper functioning of the VAR (video-refereeing) either and it was therefore wiser not to play this meeting and to postpone it to a later date, in agreement with all the parties involved in this decision. “
“We were prepared to play this match, but we must respect the decision and the application of the rules. It’s fate …” – Pascal Gastien
For Pascal Gastien, the Clermont coach, “we must above all respect this decision in direct relation to the regulations, even if we had prepared to play this match.”
It is now up to the competitions committee to rule on the postponement date of this meeting of the 19th day of Ligue 1. The players, for their part, are on vacation a little earlier than expected, before returning to the competition. from next January 2 as part of the Coupe de France, with a trip to Bastia for the round of 16.