At the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium,
“Players/staff: the ball is in your feet to save us. It was around this banner that around 200 ultras from Saint-Etienne met on Saturday afternoon, in front of the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, at 1:30 am from the kick-off of ASSE-RC Lens (1-2). When welcoming the players’ bus, the Greens supporters deliberately did not mention the club’s leaders on this message. “It’s obvious that it’s now only the players who can make things happen,” said a member of Magic Fans, the group behind
this gathering entitled “Save ASSE”.
Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo, on the other hand, were the main characters in almost all the banners subsequently unveiled, such as “Romeyer/Caïazzo, the circus is over, it’s time to leave the ring”, “RR/BC, the 2 clowns which do not make you laugh”, “Roland, dying with your shares of the club is not the solution, but your departure to save him is an emergency”, or even “(G) Roland Romeyer, the joke has gone on long enough, get out ! “.
“Romeyer took the liberty of taunting us against Nantes”
An anthology of pleasantries, against a backdrop of “Direction resignation” repeated in chorus on numerous occasions by these ultras for half an hour, all while lighting smoke bombs and wearing dozens of clown masks bearing the effigy of the two club presidents. The initiative of this meeting is linked to the boycott by the two kops of this match against the Lensois, because of the gauge of 5,000 spectators. “It’s about getting together, because we always keep the passion and we miss singing, explains Jocelyn, a member of Magic Fans. We can’t do much more. “The supporters present at this rally have in common “a total fed up” with the atypical two-headed presidency for 17 years.
“What bothers me the most is to see that my club has sold so many good players, like Selnaes, without being able to buy a single one today, underlines Gino (19), subscriber to the kop nord and came express from the North of France with his cousin to attend the match, despite the gauge. I experienced a magnificent season up close, in 2018-2019, when we were on the verge of the Champions League. So imagine how it hurts me to see my club sink like this. “If it is not exactly comparable to the sling against Waldemar Kita at FC Nantes (apart from the circus register), the rupture between the main groups of Saint-Etienne supporters and the management of ASSE is not new. Jocelyn:
It’s been several years since the real ultras understood that we would never evolve with these presidents. Me, it’s been shorter because I thought they were really in love with the club. But Caïazzo is far from all that in Dubai, and Romeyer took the liberty of taunting us in the stands in the middle of the match against Nantes[0-1onDecember22whileweweresinging”Directionresignation”Thereweallunderstoodthatwewerereallyindeepshit»[0-1le22 décembrependantqu’onchantait”Directiondémission” Làonatouscompris qu’onétaitvraimentdanslamerde »
“The love for this club is in our genes”
The desire of Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo to sell the club, made public on April 13, 2021, could have put an end to the almost permanent tensions around ASSE. But the sale process is proving to be endless, and the current place of red lantern of the Greens inevitably cools many potential buyers. “Only a revival can do good, but that means staying in Ligue 1, sums up Jocelyn. We are therefore obliged to make do with what we have and we will have to save ourselves to be sold. We are at an impasse with these presidents and their old ideas. »
As planned, at 1:30 a.m. before kick-off #ASSERCL, a hundred Saint-Etienne supporters gathered in front of the Cauldron to demand once again the resignation of the management. With numerous clown masks bearing the effigy of Romeyer and Caïazzo. pic.twitter.com/W8YltbpgzC
— Jeremy Laugier (@JeremyLaugier) January 15, 2022
One of his friends continues: “The love of the city and of this club is in our genes. Even in Ligue 2, we will remain subscribers ”. A loyalty in green and against all which does not leave the players insensitive, very marked by their sixth defeat in a row in Ligue 1, three hours after the rally. The striker of the day Ryad Boudebouz did not forget to mention “our struggling supporters”. The fate of the derby next Friday could almost alone restore some of their pride.