The sports daily L’Equipe reports, in its commentary on the events that took place Saturday night at the Allianz Arena, a rift between a portion (estimated at 2,000 people) of Nice supporters and the club’s management and ownership.
But, what will the future hold after yet another demonstration of unsporting behavior by the more fervent faction (300 people) of the protesters?
The most important and clear response comes from the Mayor of Nice and the club’s main benefactor (as the municipality pays the bill for the stadium construction and supports the club in many other ways, such as the new training and development center or a significant subsidy for the non-professional activities of the OGCN association): @Estrosi: I firmly condemn the behavior of these individuals who have no place in a sports venue.
The verdict is in, and that being said, the issue might be settled for the protesters.
President Rivière is supported in his position by the city’s chief magistrate, and it is well-known that in Nice, nothing happens without the will of Christian Estrosi. He is certainly not a stranger to the club’s ownership by this entrepreneur who has never hidden his friendship with the elected official.
Therefore, the choice for the so-called revolutionaries should be quite simple: either they continue to attend Allianz Riviera, with their subscription costing no more than a cinema ticket, and behave properly (with full rights and the freedom to criticize), or they stay home and leave in peace the other 20,000 or so spectators who come to the match to enjoy themselves and not to play warriors as some hotheads believe they have the right to do.
And so much for the red and black wall the club’s General Director Fournier desires, akin to the “yellow” wall at Dortmund’s stadium…
