Eventually, reason and humanism took over. The meeting of the 19th day of Ligue 2 between Sochaux (3rd) and Caen (8th), initially scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. and which the Doubistes did not wish to postpone to allow the Norman coach Stéphane Moulin to attend the funeral of his wife Armelle, was finally rescheduled.
“At the request of Stade Malherbe Caen and in agreement with the broadcaster beIN Sports and FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, the meeting FC Sochaux-Montbéliard – Stade Malherbe Caen has been postponed to Friday January 20 at 6:30 p.m. “, specified the Football League professional (LFP) in a press release, early Thursday evening. Caen had previously asked in vain for the meeting to be brought forward to Friday, or postponed to Sunday or Monday, due to the death of Armelle Moulin on Wednesday.
“At this moment of great pain, the LFP sends its most sincere condolences to Stéphane Moulin, his family, his loved ones and to the whole Stade Malherbe Caen”, adds the League, especially thanking the broadcaster who been accommodating.
The Norman coach had been absent since the resumption at the end of December to stay at the bedside of his seriously ill wife. It is his assistant and friend Patrice Sauvaget who served as interim. On social networks, many Internet users expressed their indignation after the initial refusal of the Sochaliens to accede to the Norman request, which caused a controversy.
Caen had mentioned a package
“Football is first and foremost a game. Clubs are families. Unfortunately, as long as some forget it, we will continue to see pathetic behavior ”, reacted in particular in a tweet Pierre-Antoine Capton, co-owner of the Norman club. “In these dramatic circumstances, I do not see how SM Caen could play a football match at Sochaux on Saturday. The place of the club is with Stéphane Moulin, ”he added.
Faced with this controversy, the general manager of FC Sochaux, Samuel Laurent, explained Thursday that he had refused rescheduling proposals for “logistical reasons”.
A bad image for Sochaux
“We are very saddened by what Stéphane Moulin and SM Caen are going through. We have no enmity with this club, let it be very clear, ”he said on the Franche-Comté club’s Twitter account. “We were offered three rescheduling options on Friday, Sunday or Monday, but it was impossible to do it on these dates for logistical reasons,” continued Samuel Laurent. “We are ready to be accommodating, but we have to be offered dates compatible with a minimum viable organization. »
“It’s easy to make us look like the bad guys when we have no problem rescheduling the game in principle,” he said. With this sad imbroglio, the Sochaux leaders have nevertheless angered a lot of people, starting with their own supporters, saddened by the image reflected by their club.