ES Saintes vice-president says club will not host Bordeaux in Coupe de France | OneFootball

ES Saintes have said they will not stage this weekend’s Coupe de France third round tie against Bordeaux, citing financial reasons. In a Facebook video, vice-president Johan Bernardin said the game would not be played in Saintes.

In a statement, the Ligue de Football de Nouvelle-Aquitaine deplored the situation and appealed to state services. It added that security requirements must remain compatible with the economic and human reality of amateur football.

Meeting the Charente-Maritime prefecture’s demands would cost nearly 40,000 euros in policing, a sum the club says it cannot afford. Bernardin does not wish to declare a forfeit and has asked the regional league and the Fédération française de football to rule on the tie.

Failing that, the club plans to file an urgent suspension request against the prefecture’s expected order banning the match. The logistics of hosting around 2,000 Bordeaux fans, including about 200 ultras, were also cited.

Options explored, such as switching the tie to Bordeaux or using a league-owned ground, did not progress due to the same constraints. The fixture’s staging is therefore heavily compromised.

Source: L'Équipe

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