Christophe Urios comes out of the silence. The manager of Clermont, violently accused and described as an “asshole” by his former player Marvin O’Connor in the wake of the defeat of the Auvergnats in Paris (36-6) on Saturday, speaks out on this insulting message, posted on X, in an interview given to L’Equipe this Tuesday. A subject that he discussed with his group in his debriefing of the match against Stade Français.
“A guy spat at me yesterday (during the night from Saturday to Sunday). It was important that I talk about it with them. There was a lot of emotion, he explains in this interview. There were innuendoes in his 1 a.m. message… I wanted to be clear with the players: if there were anything wrong, if some had problems with me, my office was open to them day and night. »
“This message was sad, in terms of manner, and sad for the team too: he attacks me but he shits on the team. It doesn’t affect me personally, but my family does, especially my children,” continues the former Bordeaux-Bègles coach. In his message posted on the social network, the ex-winger, who had not played a single match in a year and a half (2023-2024) under the orders of Christophe Urios, affirmed that the Clermont locker room did not support his boss.
“We do a lot of cleaning”
“You seem to really get everyone on board, Einstein, not a single one of your super soldiers can catch you,” said the ex-winger. Contacted by Le Parisien, he did not want to comment further on his criticisms. “You are never 100% unanimous. Since we arrived, we have been doing a lot of cleaning, we are trying to put the club back with the right foundations and the right people for the high level, admits Urios. It’s disturbing, it’s upsetting, we part ways with players, members of the staff, and that’s all that comes out. Critics… I accept them, I know what world I live in! »
Christophe Urios, who extended this month until 2027, was defended on Sunday by his president Jean-Claude Pats who described O’Connor as a “frustrated ex-player”. Clermont, sixth in the Top 14, has not played in the final stages since the arrival of the technician at the helm.
