Christophe Franken’s column: Charleroi has the worst ultras in Belgium

An ultra is a man or woman who has decided to invest in supporting their club, in the noble sense of the term. Sing, animate and color to warm up the atmosphere. Push the players by being part of the show. But in Charleroi, it has obviously been decreed that an ultra can also grant himself the right to score against his side whenever he wants. To transform yourself into the opponent’s twelfth man. Whether it’s because the management of the club no longer pleases him or because there is a birthday to celebrate with his ultra friends from Preußen Münster (German D2).

Saturday evening at Mambourg, T4 stopped the match against Union twice with smoke bombs. A first time without consequence, except a call to order at the microphone, then a second, after two minutes of play in the second period, which forced all the players to return to the locker room for fifteen minutes. This is the rule and everyone knows it, by all means. Rik De Mil’s men were leading before the long break. And they were finally defeated. From the players to Mehdi Bayat and the coach, everyone pointed to the same people responsible: the ultras.

Mehdi Bayat reacts to the interruption of the Charleroi – Union meeting: “The players only talked about that, memories of Mechelen…”

All strata of Sporting still remembered the end of the match against Mechelen in 2022, while the Zebras were leading. A trauma that resurfaced among the survivors of that era. And also among others, made aware of this defeat caused by their own supporters. To beat the excellent Union team, you have to be very mentally strong and Charleroi was no longer that when they left the locker room. As if they were playing with the sword of Damocles above their heads. As if they were wondering if it was still worth fighting when a “fumi” could beat them at any time.

We can no longer hope for much from the Charleroi ultras. The dialogue didn’t work, neither did the punishments. And the worst thing is that they don’t understand what they are doing wrong, as their press release demonstrated on Sunday morning. They believe that we cannot blame the defeat on their backs, even if they regret the timing of the second stoppage. “It was just a festive and commemorative pyrotechnic display.”they write before pointing out the errors of the goalkeeper, the mentality of the players, the choices of the coach, the decisions of the management and the regulations of the Pro League. Did they want to bring chaos back to Charleroi after three wins in four games which offered a prospect of playoffs or are they just stupid? No matter the answer, the result is the same: Charleroi has the worst ultras in the country.