The Gym travels to Saint-Étienne for a duel that promises to be balanced. The home team will be eager to win, as they are still playing for their qualification for the European Cup next season.
OGC Nice will be without their supporters this Saturday evening at the Chaudron. As announced, the Gym had filed an appeal to lift the travel ban imposed on their supporters.
Despite the proximity of the match (this Saturday at 9 PM), the request was rejected on the grounds of a lack of urgency by the emergency judge of the Lyon Administrative Court, and the Aiglons will therefore have to do without their loyal fans at Geoffroy Guichard on Saturday. While unfortunately unsurprising, the emergency order remains particularly open to criticism.
From the club’s and its council’s perspective, the mere fact that fundamental freedoms are at stake (freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, among others) should have sufficed to characterize the urgency and justify the merits of our emergency suspension appeal.
It is regrettable that, similar to previous decisions made on behalf of other French clubs, this legal recourse was not addressed.
It is also hardly reconcilable with legal principles that the club and its council were not summoned to a public hearing to defend their position.
OGC NICE FILES AN APPEAL FOR EXCESS OF POWER
At this stage, the question of the legality of the order by the Prefecture of the Loire, contested point by point by the club, has still not been assessed. This will happen in a second stage as OGC Nice has simultaneously filed an appeal for excess of power against this order at the Lyon Administrative Court. The judgment on the merits will be delivered in several months, but OGC Nice will closely monitor this procedure.
Indeed, the club will not stop there. From now on, it will contest each travel ban order to eventually obtain and substantively secure cancellations before the administrative courts.
THE SAINT-ÉTIENNE GROUP
Goalkeepers: Ruffier, J. Moulin, Vermot
Defenders: Polomat, Saliba, Kolodziejczak, Lo. Perrin, W. Fofana, Nadé
Midfielders: M’vila, Aït Bennasser, Vada, Benkhedim, Rocha
Forwards: Ma. Gueye, Nordin, Salibur, Hamouma, Beric, Abi, Ghezali
THE NICE GROUP
Goalkeepers: Benitez, Clémentia
Defenders: Atal, Sarr, Burner, Boscagli, Jallet, Coly, Pelmard
Midfielders: Walter, Tameze, Lees-Melou, Danilo, Makengo, Sylvestre
Forwards: Saint-Maximin, Ganago, Sacko, Le Bihan.
THE REFEREE
The referee for the match will be Antony Gautier. He will be assisted by Mickaël Annonier and Philippe Jeanne.
