Stéphane Montanier (President Saumur): “We are crossing our fingers that everything goes very well. The slightest incident would have repercussions for our club”

For the Kiosk, Stéphane Montanierthe president of the Saumur club, spoke about the match against the Girondins de Bordeaux this Saturday, focusing on the security measures put in place.

“We are happy to welcome Bordeaux but it is rather complicated from an organizational point of view. I received by email an order for a security perimeter for the people of Bordeaux. Their supporters are banned from traveling. For security reasons, the city center and the outskirts of the stadium from the swimming pool roundabout will be closed to them if some come. The prefect reserves the right to declare a closed session for the match at the last moment. Our spectators had already missed the Cup match against Toulouse due to Covid at the time. I don’t want them to be deprived of this match. At this time we are not allowed to sell tickets on match day. This is why we organized pre-sales this week, sales which are going very well. To date (Tuesday), more than 1000 places have been sold. We are expecting 2,500 people, the current maximum capacity of the stadium. My words are valid until the end of the day. The provisions dictated by the prefecture can change overnight. We had to call on a security agency, the one that acts for SCO matches in Angers. There will be five security guards to screen entries with searches. In the stadium we will have our usual stewards plus professionals to regulate internal traffic. It is not the Bordeaux players who pose the problem but possible supporters. Only families with their children would be admitted provided that they do not wear any sign relating to the colors of the Girondins… We are crossing our fingers that everything goes very well. The slightest incident would have repercussions for our club.”