OGC Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere: ‘The Coupe de France is no longer a priority.’ | OneFootball

Following a 0-0 draw against FC Metz on Sunday night, it is confirmed that OGC Nice will have to face AS Saint-Étienne in a relegation play-off in order to retain their Ligue 1 status for next season. 

Post-match, club co-president Jean-Pierre Rivere, who returned back in December, addressed the media in a mixed zone interview attended by Get French Football News and spoke of a “catastrophic” season for Nice. 

It is a season that could yet end with relegation to Ligue 2, whilst it also tarnishes what should be a special occasion when the club head to Paris to face RC Lens in the Coupe de France final. “The Coupe de France is no longer a priority at all. The most important thing is to stay in Ligue 1: there are two matches left for that. We will have to show a different mindset, a different attitude. So long as there is hope, you have to support the team,” said Rivere.

That last comment was a thinly veiled dig at those who invaded the pitch post-match on Sunday night. Those incidents could yet lead to the authorities issuing a stand closure, perhaps for the relegation play-off against ASSE, as Rivere himself admitted.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Nice