At 5 p.m. this Wednesday, the Haguenau club, National 2, will face Dunkirk, in Ligue 2, in a match counting for the round of 16 of the Coupe de France. A surprising display in the middle of the week, but which can be explained by the postponement of the initial match due to a frozen pitch.
This Wednesday evening there is the Champions League, the Europa League and… the Coupe de France! Haguenau, in National 2, will host Dunkirk this evening, in Ligue 2, as part of the round of 16 of the competition. A poster initially planned a week ago, but postponed to January 22 due to… frozen ground.
“The frost made the pitch very hard. This put the integrity of the players in danger. We could not guarantee their safety. I therefore decided to postpone the match”, justified the match referee, Thierry Bouille, at a press conference. With sub-zero temperatures, frozen parts of the pitch were unable to soften, even an hour before kick-off.
To avoid such a situation, Dunkerque had requested from Haguenau and the FFF the reversal of the meeting and therefore to welcome the club currently 12th in its National 2 group. The Latest News from Alsace even states that Dunkerque would have liked a victory on the green carpet and qualification without playing for the next round. The argument put forward by the Northern club would be the inability of the host club to ensure the safety of the players.
-“I don’t want to go back to Haguenau for nothing”
A request refused by the FFF which greatly displeased the Alsatian club. “To ask for the match to be won on the green carpet when we are not responsible for the weather… The bigger it is, the better it goes,” whispered Haguenau coach Cédric Deubel. Frustrated at having made this trip empty, the Dunkirk players assured, through the voice of Alec Georgen, that they “do not want to return to Haguenau for nothing”.
The winner of the match will face Lille in the round of 16, in a match which will be played on February 4, the date of the round of 16. “With the draw carried out beforehand, it gives us additional motivation, but also for the other team,” recognizes Georgen.
