OGC Nice defied the ban from the Professional Football League by flying its eagle before the start of the match against Lorient yesterday, Saturday, and will try to get the League to reverse its decision to ban its pre-match animation.
The eagle, which has become the mascot of the Allianz Riviera, indeed ignored its “stadium ban” by tracing large circles above the field on Saturday evening, as usual since September, before landing on its falconer’s arm shortly before kick-off.
According to Mr. Fournier, the eagle is not on the list of dangerous animals. The Portuguese club Benfica Lisbon, in particular, has its own to animate its pre-matches without any incident for years.
During the PSG match at the end of March, the Nice eagle, frightened by the record attendance and the wild atmosphere, got stuck in the rafters under the roof of the Allianz Riviera.
What is really the problem? Everyone has their explanation…
“The competition organization committee informed us on Thursday that it was withdrawing the authorization given at the start of the season for this pre-match animation, claiming that the eagle’s behavior was dangerous,” explained the club’s general manager, Julien Fournier.
“We have decided not to comply with this decision, which is contestable both in substance and form. And we are appealing,” explained the Nice official.
Christian Estrosi, Deputy Mayor of Nice, President of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, has just written to the President of the Football League to express his incomprehension:
“The Football League’s decision to ban our eagle from the stadium, a symbol of our city, has caused a lot of incomprehension.
The Nice eagle, part of our history as it appears on our coat of arms for six centuries, is a symbol of unity. This eagle garners the full support of an entire population.
It is for this reason that the children of Nice, in over 154 schools, are currently working on choosing a name for the protecting eagle of the city and its inhabitants.
Moreover, the Football League’s decision seems unfounded because the fully tamed eagle poses no danger.
I call on the Football League to reconsider its decision and allow an entire population, attached to its identity and culture, to continue to be moved and to thrill for its eagle and for football.”
That said, when will a football match once again be just a football match?
