Axel Allag, Media365, published on Friday May 13, 2022 at 6:06 p.m.
Following the insulting song against Emiliano Sala, OGC Nice announced, through the voice of its president Jean-Pierre Rivère, a first sanction, this Friday. The leader also wanted a tribute to be paid to the Argentine striker in the 9th minute against Lille on Saturday.
The first penalty fell. Criticized in a virulent way by Christophe Galtier, the song of the Ultras of the Popular South sung Wednesday evening against the former Nantes resident Emiliano Sala, will be sanctioned. As a reminder, during the 9th minute of the match against AS Saint-Étienne (4-2), supporters of the Riviera club hijacked a song supposed to be in honor of Emiliano Sala (who wore number 9 In Nantes). Instead of the traditional lyrics – “He’s an Argentinian, who never gives up, Emiliano Sala, Emiliano Sala” – the persons concerned chanted an unworthy song, in relation to the circumstances of the death of the former member of Nantes; “He’s an Argentinian, who doesn’t swim well, Emiliano underwater, Emiliano underwater”.
A desired tribute in the 9th minute against Lille
So, this Friday, President Jean-Pierre Rivère spoke through an official press release. “Faced with the intolerable, what measures are available to us, close an entire forum? Punish more than 5,000 people without distinction? It’s unfair and ineffective. Our desire is that only identified troublemakers be punished”, can we read on the official website of the Riviera club. Thus, the sanction was formalized: “The ‘capo’ who hosted the stand on Wednesday was thus served with a commercial stadium ban by the club. It takes effect this weekend. This in-depth work will continue in the coming days, in particular during the investigation carried out by our services and the authorities following the complaints filed.
The manager also made a point of stressing that “on a daily basis, OGC Nice conveys very different values”urging supporters to pay tribute to Sala, on the 37th day of Ligue 1. “We therefore encourage our public to affirm it with force on Saturday evening by once again paying tribute, in the most vibrant way possible, to the memory of Emiliano Sala, in the 9th minute of the match. as he had been able to do after his tragic disappearance in 2019″.
