“We make women play on unsuitable grounds”, denounces Jean Michel-Aulas

Present on the morning of Monday March 6 at the Créteil handball house for a working meeting on the development of women’s practice in France organized by Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Jean-Michel Aulas had a few messages to convey. The president of OL thus expressed himself on the playing conditions and the treatment of women’s football in France: “We make women play on unsuitable grounds, which are not suitable either in terms of the public, there is an absolutely incredible difference in the regulations between acceptance for women and men”did he declare.

Drawing on the recent example of the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, Aulas underlined the lack of consideration for women’s competitions, regretting in particular the quality of the lawns on which these matches were played. Assuming the “responsibility of the federation”he wished to insist on the need to make things happen: “I assume, we are going to modify all that, the grounds which are accepted for the quarters are not accepted for the boys.

In the same vein, he stressed that the means made available to broadcasters for the retransmission of competitions was far from optimal and that he had “carried out a very precise audit on what was going on and it is also true that we did not always give the broadcasters the means to transcribe in the best conditions”. In addition, the person who is also in charge of women’s football within the executive committee (Comex) of the FFF spoke on other important subjects, such as that of the equipment of players who do not benefit “specific shoes for women’s football”. He also clarified that “six candidates” among the twelve Division 1 clubs have come forward to be provided with an academy to have their “own training structure”.