LE SCAN SPORT – For legal reasons, the National 2 club has not received permission to install a giant screen in town to allow residents to follow the Coupe de France semi-final against Nice. A disappointment.
Versailles will play the most important match in its history in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France on Tuesday evening, in Nice. But the Petit Poucet of the competition, playing in National 2 (fourth level of football in France), already forced to have to go and play at the Allianz Riviera because his stadium is not up to standard, learned with sadness that he could not install a giant screen on the market place to allow the people of Versailles to experience this historic moment together.
Read alsoWhy its proximity to the Palace of Versailles penalizes Petit Poucet for the Coupe de France
For a few days, the municipality had been in negotiations with the broadcasters and the rights holders in order to offer this gift to the inhabitants who could not make the trip to the south of France. The bad news fell on Friday afternoon. “For legal and broadcasting rights reasons and despite numerous joint attempts by the city and the Football Club of Versailles to find a solution, it will not be possible to broadcast the FCV semi-final on a giant screen on the market square.“, regrets the municipality which invited its citizens to come and encourage the club in the various bars and pubs which will broadcast this poster. A fallback solution which will not, however, replace the fervor of a gathering of several thousand people in the heart of the city. This announcement has also provoked the anger and bitterness of club supporters on social networks against rights holders.
Thursday, after training, Jean-Luc Arribart, club director and consultant to Canal+, had entrusted to Figaro that the negotiations were difficult with all the stakeholders. Chain Eurosportwhich will broadcast the meeting on Tuesday evening, was not the only decision maker in these discussions described as “complexesby the leader.
Read alsoCoupe de France: Petit Poucet from Versailles forced to play his semi-final in Nice
This news is all the harder to digest for the amateur club as the meeting, which was to be held at the Montbauron stadium, had finally been relocated to Nice. The enclosure dating from 1961 is indeed not up to standard in terms of lighting due to the presence of the castle and an area of 5 km around preventing the installation of this type of installation. The two previous rounds had pushed the FCV to play the matches away rather than at home for identical reasons. The club had tried to organize the shock at the Parc des Princes or at the Charléty stadium. Paris SG had not given its agreement due to the care given to the lawn and the Prefecture had given an unfavorable opinion concerning the stadium in the XIIIth arrondissement.
The club had however managed to set up an exceptional device with a giant screen during the two previous rounds to compensate for the disappointment born of the relocations (against Bergerac and Toulouse). Unfortunately, the operation cannot be repeated. Versailles will still have a little popular support at the Allianz Riviera since around 500 people (supporters as well as the families of the players) will travel to the South.
