The statement from Populaire Sud and its president, Renaud Maccheroni, expresses their passion and deserves attention and publication. The Nice Ultras demand a stadium that sings and vibrates. And that’s just how it should be; having a beautiful and fervent popular participation during a match is one of the ingredients of the spectacle.
However, the Ultras certainly do not ignore that sometimes, or too often, this “tifo,” initially festive, overflows and can become violent. And that is intolerable and inexcusable.
Finding the right balance between these two opposing lines is anything but easy.
Even though sometimes it is confusing, there is always a good and a bad side to things.
And here, one must be clear on which side they stand.
DEATH TO THE NICE ULTRAS… Supporters, fans, Niçoises, Niçois,
We stand before you with our only passion, to try to change a future that aims to be the death of the Nice Ultras. We need you and your support:
Last Sunday, young people from the Tribune decided to pay tribute to the famous dissolved group, which was part of the club’s and Ray stadium’s history.
We were all happy with the outcome of this choreography, even the League. Yes, on its official Facebook page, the France of supporters was called to vote for our tifo for the tribune championship!
Yes, but that was without counting the DNLH: Populaire Sud would have dared to challenge them… crime of lèse-majesté. So, back to the desire to kill the Nice ultras: group leaders summoned, interrogated, taken into custody, searches, search for material with the “3” letters, etc.
Thus, in a state of emergency, the priority would be to mobilize police forces and the justice system to fight against the “dangerous choreographers” of Populaire…
Wouldn’t it have been simpler to talk with the leaders to explain that this time, the choreography, perhaps clumsy, was tolerated, but that a new evocation of the 3 letters would not be? Evidently not, since the choreography is accused of being an act of reconstituting the dissolved group. Delirious! Especially since before the match, the elements of the choreography were searched and authorized.
The choreography was set up in the empty stand, and the Security PC saw it well before the start of the match, even taking a photo of it. No one found anything to complain about. The choreography was therefore tacitly authorized.
Hours of work, setup, and organization that mobilized a lot of people in a common project to make the red and black colors the emblem of the derby. Where is the violence? Where would there be a call to hatred? Where would there be insult?
The attack by the authorities is absurd and unfair. In the face of this injustice, only two local elected officials were moved (Xavier Garcia and Philippe Vardon). Not a word from the mayor, not a word from the deputy president of the Côte d’Azur metropolis…
YET, WE REMIND YOU THAT ULTRAS ARE FULL CITIZENS AND (STILL) HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
This silence is incomprehensible and allows the DNLH to demand our head.
Thus, the Prefecture, which is already multiplying bans on us moving, agitated by Paris, has informed the club that it seeks from the League the closure of the South and North stands, that it is considering limiting the number of seats inside these stands, that it will prohibit leaders of associations from entering the stadium before the normal opening of the doors to install equipment intended for animation, that it will ban all banners…
Other coercive measures are still under study. Thus, for a choreography, while since the beginning of the season, even the league hailed a noticeable improvement in the behavior of the stands (a few fines, no closed-door sessions), it has been decided to kill the ultra groups in Nice, as ARN is also targeted.
Beware, because soon, at this pace, you too will no longer have the right to stand up, to wear what you want, to be as you want to be, etc.
Indeed, the very recent LARRIVE bill crosses various thresholds and discriminates and stigmatizes the ultras even more, but also football supporters: for example, clubs would have the option of simply refusing entry to certain supporters, whom they will be able to register without any control of the Judge, then! Defending us is also defending you against these restrictions on freedoms lacking any legitimate reason.
One may also wonder if this attack against us is not an attack against the club. It is 3rd; it disrupts. So, if one wanted to deprive it of those it needs to win its home matches, one could not do otherwise. We know that the Gym needs us to stay at the top, but we need it to continue to exist.
However, the club also remains silent: that is why today, we have found nothing else but to go silent so that you realize what ALLIANZ would be without us.
Understand that without the right to live our passion at the stadium, as Ultras, what is the point of supporting our club to finish at the top of the rankings!
SO IF YOU DO NOT WANT THIS, IF YOU WANT A COLORFUL STADIUM THAT SINGS AND VIBRATES, HELP US! Mobilize! Say on all social networks, everywhere, I AM ULTRAS NICOIS.
Let’s not forget that on Friday, November 20, 2015, all together, we offered an unforgettable minute of silence for the victims of terrorism. Our stadium was proud to have set the example, and many had praised the Nice public.
Let’s unite again to defend ourselves! Let’s force our politicians to change their discourse so that this blind and unfair repression stops.
No, the tifo displayed against OM does not justify our exclusion from the stadium!
