It was a decision that caused a stir in the sphere of PSG supporters but which was very well accepted. For 15 days, a member of the Collectif Ultras Paris, a subscriber in the Auteuil bend, has been prohibited from to sell his place in case of absence. This decision was recorded by Paris Saint-Germain. In order to understand this decision and its implementation, France Bleu Paris contacted the president of the CUP Romain Mabille.
In a statement, the main group of PSG supporters explains “At the request of our leaders and our lawyers, it has been planned to prohibit the resale on the official exchange of tickets for the beneficiaries of CUP subscriptions. In the event of absence, the tickets can only be free of charge. transferred, within the limit of 10 per season”. Rather than reselling the place, the collective offers its members to offer the ticket “to other members of the CUP whose financial means do not allow access to matches, the CUP solidarity or the PSG foundation”.
How did you come to this idea ?
The idea came after being fed up with seeing people in the stands selling their seats. And we believe that in our ideal, when we are lucky enough to have a subscription to the Auteuil grandstand, it is neither to do business, nor to be absent. There are a whole bunch of people who would like to have subscriptions and the waiting lists are huge. And we believe that the people who are there will be a passionate, loyal audience who do everything to be present at each match. Afterwards, we know that professionally, personally, there are always imperatives from time to time. That’s why we authorize the loan. But absenting oneself for financial purposes is unacceptable! So we decided to counter this resale and we proposed to PSG to apply resale bans to CUP subscriptions.
What was the reaction of PSG when the CUP proposed this ban for its members?
They understood us because we had factual arguments about the fact that there are dozens and dozens of tourists at each match. The club sees like us that the resale price is soaring on the Ticketplace platform. Sometimes, there are places in the Auteuil bend at 1000 or even 1500 euros. PSG is aware of the problem and I think that’s why they were attentive to our request and are supporting us on this test. Football is still a popular sport. Everyone should be able to go see a match at the Parc des Princes. And we will always fight so that all the inhabitants of Île-de-France can see PSG matches.
In concrete terms, how will it be for an ultra who will continue to sell his place?
If it is proven that someone is still doing business, that he does not respect the rules of the association, he will simply be excluded from the collective. There are certain things that we can tolerate from time to time, but doing business in a place is a no-no and it will therefore be exclusion.
And in the other case, how will the stock exchange go?
So be careful, I read things on social networks… no, there won’t be any place matches in the evening to recover in front of the Auteuil stand. In fact, we have been operating like this for several seasons. When you’re not there, you actually lend your subscription to someone who needs it. And for the gesture, we put ten or twenty euros in the group’s fund to finance the activities during the season. Sometimes we have contacts from expatriates all over France who want to come from time to time. We also invite our members to give their place to associations, to be supportive (PSG foundation and CUP Solidarity).
Another decision, you also managed to record with PSG the fact that the price of the subscription to the season does not change (price 420 euros)!
That’s it, and despite everything that is said, we have a common vision that the bends are popular places. And it must remain so! We discuss the price of the subscription every year. It is true that this is a very important subject and the fact of freezing the prices remains a strong gesture from PSG. It shows that we trust each other, that there is once again a real dialogue and that we are moving forward together on certain issues.
What are the next issues where you want to discuss and move forward with PSG?
The Jersey ! This is a big, important file and it is frankly close to our hearts. If we could have this year the validation of the “Hechter” jersey for an indefinite period… frankly I would not say that it is a victory – because it is not a fight between them and us – but I think it could be a very strong gesture from PSG to show that the club listens to all Parisian supporters.