We expected the supporters to send a message to Olivier Renard, perhaps ironic, perhaps cold, during this match in Tubize. But the virulence they demonstrated was striking.
The chants of “Wouter buiten” which resounded quite early in this match between RUTB and RSC Anderlecht were not a surprise. We explained it: by separating from Jesper Fredberg, Wouter Vandenhaute accelerated the process which consisted of essentially giving him back the reins of Sporting. He, whose role no longer has much of a non-executive nature, has decided that he no longer wishes to remain in the shadows.
The public is not stupid: already, after the departure of Brian Riemer, it was Vandenhaute’s head that had been called for. Same thing now that Jesper Fredberg has walked out the door. But we expected a little less the virulence of the messages intended forOlivier Renard.
First via a fairly thin banner: “Noblesse oblige, it’s the Silver Fox: the other one is a pest”. A reference to the club’s new slogan, and the nickname of the late Michel Verschueren, Olivier Renard being singled out in comparison.
At half-time, a more sober and direct banner, “Renard not welcome”, was deployed and remained in place during the second half. Worse: the public launched chants in reference to Standard, thereby emphasizing that the new sports director of the RSCA… remained above all in the eyes of the supporters the former sports director of Matricule 16.
Not ideal for a club which is desperately struggling to find the serenity it so badly needs. Wouter Vandenhaute probably underestimated the animosity that Renard would encounter, dismissing the subject of the Standard and Operation Clean Hands with almost a shrug of the shoulders. Enough to widen the divide between the president and his public, which now seems irreversible…
