The match between Paris-FC and Lyon was definitively stopped Friday, December 17, after incidents. The president of the Paris Football Club assures on franceinfo that “the group of Ultra Lyonnais is unleashed” and believe that they would not have “never had to set foot” at the Charléty stadium in Paris. Pierre Ferracci also asks for “sanctions” against Olympique Lyonnais and holds club leader Jean-Michel Aulas responsible.
franceinfo: What happened from your point of view?
Pierre Ferracci : First, I saw a very full stadium for a good match, with a very balanced first half. And then, after half-time, let’s be clear, there is no ambiguity on this, the group of Ultras Lyonnais went wild. Quite simply, these people should never have set foot in Charléty. We know them, we know who they are. A number of them arrived late for the stadium, which undoubtedly made them even more excited. And obviously, neither the police forces nor the security officials that we had put in place were able to stem this violence. And the referee decided with the delegates to stop the match.
For you, do Lyon’s leaders have their share of responsibility?
I sometimes defend Jean-Michel Aulas. But I told him earlier that if he did not solve this problem of violent supporters, his club would sink and French football would suffer seriously. I’m sick of the fact that today 35 or 36 Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs suffer from the behavior of a few clubs that do not deal with their violent supporters. I too have a kop. It is smaller, but when they throw a smoke that is not authorized, we go to see them, and we tell them very quietly that if they do not manage the few fanatics within them, they will stay at the door of the stadium, all. This is what must be done today. We must stop hiding behind two or three thugs. There aren’t two or three. There are several dozen of them and they should not come to Charléty. They came to be violent. They don’t come to watch football matches.
What state of mind was the president of OL in when you spoke to him?
Jean-Michel Aulas seemed to me a little less impactful than usual. I have the impression that he was undergoing the events. I believe he is sufficiently intelligent and a great strategist to recognize that the problem is with him. He is not at Paris FC. The problem is at home, and he knows it very well. So there, I will wait for the sporting decision that the Federation will take. We have a Ligue 2 championship in which we are well placed today. We will play against Amiens on Tuesday and I don’t know what I will do if the game is postponed. I think there have to be sanctions, that Paris FC has no reason to suffer the slightest sanction. You have to hit very hard.
Had all security measures been taken upstream to avoid overflows?
All security measures are taken. We are in football, but it is getting very violent. What do you want a Ligue 2 club to do, even while mobilizing much greater security resources than usual? Much more important than those we had mobilized for the match two years ago against Lens, there were also 15,000 people in the stadium, half of Lensois. There was not the slightest incident. I was even given a fair play trophy, moreover, because I had opened the visitor parking lot and beyond the 1,500 supporters they were owed.
Are you expecting a reaction from the Minister of Sports?
I expect something from the Minister of Sports, the Minister of the Interior, but I also expect something from the League and the Federation because now, we must stop finasser. I think that there is a problem today of governance of the football authorities and in particular of the League, because the clubs which tear themselves apart in the public square, these are clubs which are also administrators of the League. So when you are an administrator, on the one hand, you do not have the right, I think, to gut in the public place. But we have a little more responsibilities than those who are not in charge. So I am going to ask now that the League take its responsibilities and the overhaul of the governance of the League, it is not simply to pass the administrators from 25 to 17 as is proposed for next spring.