Stade Toulousain must face Harlequins at the Stadium this Sunday, May 5. In any case, this is what the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) announced. But the Ligue 1 schedule might well compromise the holding of this match at the Stadium.
Will the Stade Toulousain match once morest Harlequins take place at the Stadium? © Bryan Faham – The News
Yes theEuropean Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) announced that Stade Toulousain will face Harlequins in the semi-final of the Champions Cup on Sunday May 5 at the Stadium, nothing is less certain according to Henri de Lagoutine. Indeed, on France Bleuthe sports assistant, announced at the beginning of the week that he was awaiting official written confirmation because the holding of this match “depends on football and TFC”.
Why might the match not be held at the Stadium?
Clear, the same weekend, the Violets must face Montpellier as part of the 33rd day of Ligue 1. It therefore risks getting stuck in terms of organization if the Toulouse Football Club were to play on Saturday May 4, the day before the match at Stade Toulousain. For the moment, the Ligue 1 calendar is not known. The holding of the meeting between the Rouge et Noir and the Harlequins at the Stadium therefore remains pending.
However, the EPCR, contacted by the Journal Toulousain, confirms, for its part, having “ worked with the National Rugby League and Toulouse Town Hall to validate the Stadium, a magnificent stadium in the heart of a city passionate regarding rugby, to organize the semi-final of the Investec Champions Cup between Stade Toulousain and Harlequins on Sunday May 5. Tickets for the meeting are already on sale.
Contacted by us, the Toulouse Town Hall finally explained that the TFC match will be either on Friday 3 or Saturday 4, “May 5 being the date of commemoration of the Furiani disaster on which no Ligue 1 match will be played (law of October 20, 2021). » She then assures: “Whatever the date chosen for the football match, the Toulouse Métropole teams, in conjunction with the TFC and the Stade Toulousain, are already strongly mobilized to ensure the passage of the Stadium a football to rugby configuration within a tight deadline and thus allow supporters of both sports to go and encourage their teams at the Stadium in the best conditions during this great sporting weekend. »
A problem that Stade Toulousain had already encountered
It’s not not the first time such a problem has arisen. Moreover, the round of 16 of the Champions Cup between Stade Toulousain and Racing 92 finally had to be held at the Ernest-Wallon stadium on Sunday April 7 due to the scheduling of Ligue 1. However, they were initially scheduled for Stadium. But a match between TFC and Strasbourg was also scheduled there on the same day.
