After the missing trains for the League Cup final and the decisive statements from Nicolas Sarkozy, it’s the bible of French football that has just dealt another low blow to OGC Nice.
Indeed, in the March 7, 2006 edition of France Football, an article anonymously penned with the suggestive title “Cohen defends the people of Nice” claims that during the Nice-Lens match this weekend, “monkey chants marred the evening.”
Following the comments from the Minister of the Interior linking the events at PSG with the OGC Nice Club, President Maurice Cohen had insisted on the absence of “monkey chants” and other racist incidents in Nice.
Could the real pollution not be in these writings which seem more like an attempt to discredit OGC Nice than to provide real information?
Strangely, no one present at the Stade du Ray heard any sounds other than the usual “Issa Nissa,” and the red and black club has finally decided to file a lawsuit against the mysterious journalist and the publication that allowed allegations that undoubtedly deserved to be checked more carefully.
It’s to learn more about this new case staining his club that Nice Première spoke to Virginie Rossetti, in charge of communication and press at OGC Nice.
Nice Première: Virginie Rossetti, how do you interpret this new media slip-up surrounding OGC Nice?
Virginie Rossetti: Honestly, as someone who has never wanted to fall into some kind of sterile paranoia during similar events, I am starting to wonder if I am a bit naive in the end… I still do not understand the purpose of the person who wrote what we could read in today’s France Football other than to spread disinformation to perhaps be more attractive.
NP: Lack of trains for the final, low blow from Nicolas Sarkozy, hallucinations from France Football… If one wanted to mount a campaign against OGC Nice, it couldn’t be done otherwise. Your thoughts on this?
VR: It’s “funny”, that’s the term I used when reading the article… well, let’s say it’s the term I “screamed” when reading the article…
NP: How will the club react to these accusations?
VR: We have sent a right of reply statement to all of the Press and have expressed the Club’s intention to sue journalist X (who did not sign his article!) as well as France Football.
NP: As the head of communication and press, how did you feel about this new stroke of “bad” luck?
VR: Given the colossal amount of work at the Club, especially at this time with the participation in the 22nd April final, it is even more difficult to remain calm when reading such baseless accusations, whose only purpose, I am starting to realize, is to harm OGC Nice.
NP: Finally, how is the morale at the red and black house?
VR: We have calmly ensured survival, we are playing a beautiful final in Paris in April… I guess we can say it feels good to be at OGC Nice right now, whether it’s in the locker rooms or in the offices.