The cancellation of the 32e final of the Coupe de France Tours FC – Lorient, Saturday December 21, inevitably raises many questions.
What led to the match being canceled five hours before kick-off?
A lack of organization of the security system led the Indre-et-Loire prefecture and the French Football Federation (FFF) to this decision.
However, everything was scheduled for Tuesday, December 17 in the evening. After several preparatory meetings between state services, the club and the security company (Sud-Ouest Sécurité) requested by the TFC, a system was designed.
But the intervention of Hacène Haddad, trusted man of the Belgian owner Ivan Desmet, changed the situation: judging the last estimate (updated according to the prefecture's requirements) too high, he tried to find others solutions, at lower cost.
For three days, a ubiquitous “waltz” followed between the different parties. Until finding ourselves in an absolute impasse on Saturday morning. Despite the intervention of the town hall of Tours and the FFF, who acted as financial guarantors, the problem was no longer there: it was too late to bring together the sufficient number of security agents to ensure the welcoming several thousand people to the Vallée du Cher stadium (a little over 6,000 tickets had already been sold and, if the stadium ticket office had been open, more than 8,000 spectators were expected). The cancellation became inevitable.
Will the Tours FC – Lorient match be played in a few days?
It's still possible… For now, this is the outfit of this 32e of the Coupe de France final on Saturday December 21 which was canceled. The FFF must now decide on the continuation. A priori, this Monday, December 23. The leaders of Tours FC have until Monday noon to present their defense. With his lawyers, Ivan Desmet was still working on it this Sunday at 1 p.m.
According to our information, they have requested new security companies in order to bring together the necessary contingent of agents on Wednesday January 15. Certainly to show the Federation that they would be able, this time, to ensure the meeting took place.
But to influence the final decision of the federal commission of the Coupe de France, it will above all be necessary to convince it that the TFC is not the author of the errors which led to the lack of organization recorded on Saturday noon… Not easy. And if they do not succeed, the sky and black club would then be declared losers on the green carpet, eliminated without playing in the event in favor of Lorient.
Will sold tickets be refunded?
Absolutely, they should be. In a short press release sent directly to The New Republic Saturday evening, Ivan Desmet said he wanted “find a solution” for the match to be played, but “If not, we will come back to you to clarify the reimbursement terms.”
It remains to be seen whether the TFC has the necessary cash flow to achieve this… While more than 6,000 tickets had been sold at the end of the week, the senior leaders of Tours have, according to several sources, claimed not to be able to pay the entire ticket in cash. invoice sent by the security company.
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