The Coupe de France is not always a matter of magic and communion between amateur and professional football. The melodrama which surrounds the post-match of the 32nd final between FC Nantes and the Drancy club (4-0) illustrates this again.
After the reproaches of the Drance president, who had castigated the decision of the Nantes residents not to give the amateurs their share of the revenue from the match as is customary, his Nantes counterpart Waldemar Kita responded in the columns of L'Équipe.
“We were very disappointed with the way we were received, he (Editor's note: the president of Drancy) did not come to see me, we did not have a coffee or a drink together, we must not dirty people like that, commented the president of the Canaries. I'm not even responsible for financial matters, there are people at the club responsible for that and they throw me out. I know I'm a pet peeve, but we shouldn't exaggerate anyway. »
“You have to be respectful and polite”
“I think it’s a lack of good manners,” added Kita. And we were left aside, alone in the stadium. I'm not complaining, but you have to be respectful and polite. It would have been better if he had welcomed us and explained certain things to us, perhaps it would have gone differently. It's not because we are professionals that we do not have the right to respect, professional clubs are not cash cows. »
Speaking to Le Parisien, JAD president Alain Melaye regretted having to make “a transfer to the Nantes residents of 13,000 euros while the club has a budget of several tens of millions of euros”. “For us, the trip to the Bauer stadium and all the expenses incurred will cost us 40,000 euros,” he detailed. We will probably have to pay a large protective net to the Red Star manager because the Ultras Nantais burned him after the match. »
“It’s a big disappointment for amateur football,” he explained again. There is no rapprochement between amateurs and pros. However, many stars come from small amateur clubs. Kita's attitude is petty. This does not make man grow. When you are the president of a big club like Nantes, you are a great gentleman. I am convinced that if we had faced PSG, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi would have come to greet us. »
