Noël Le Graët received a text following Lens-Lille, and its content was not intended to launch a debate on the XXL performance of Captain Sang and Or Seko Fofana. The president of the French Football Federation (FFF) was called to vigilance by the Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu in the wake of the round of 16 of the Coupe de France. The reason ? The gathering of more than 4,000 artesian supporters in a single stand at the Bollaert stadium, part of which did not respect social distancing or the wearing of masks.
The scene went badly on the side of the public authorities, the day following the return for at least three weeks of the gauges in the stadiums, with a ceiling of 5,000 people in the open air enclosures due to health constraints. According to our information, the Minister of Sports has asked the boss of French football, whose federation is organizing the Coupe de France, to ensure that the clubs open more stands and set up a more spaced distribution of the public.
But Noël Le Graët is not the only one to have been warned. The Sports Ministry explained to the various professional leagues that “parking the spectators in this way was the best way to go back”. “I would be grateful if you would ensure that the implementation of these gauges in sports arenas is accompanied by respect for a physical distance between the spectators who must remain masked,” wrote Roxana Maracineanu in a letter dated Tuesday to players in the world of sport. This is essential for their safety, but also for the exemplary image that sport sends back to the country, especially when it is the subject of a television broadcast. “
No proportional gauge without improving the health situation
According to several sources, the limit of 5,000 people for the stadiums – 2,000 in closed rooms – has already had to be negotiated with the Ministry of Health, which wanted to lower the spectator ceiling even further. The Minister of Health Olivier Véran has also closed the door to the principle of a gauge proportional to the size of the stadium, a measure carried by several deputies of the majority. An amendment voted on in the Assembly opened the door to proportionality on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the size of the stadiums, but also their conditions of access. But no exemption can be granted until the health situation improves, at least locally.
Until then, the authorities are waiting for the stands to respect the rules. The new protocol of the Professional Football League (LFP), unveiled on Tuesday, requires supporters to remain seated, obliges them to wear the mask at all times and to respect a physical distance meter. But the clubs, who have to sit on a good chunk of their ticketing revenue with these limited gauges, do not yet intend to increase their fees by opening all their stands, which would imply additional logistics costs.