Hasty change goes badly. Broadcaster of the Coupe de France, BeIN Sports has decided to change the kick-off schedule for Nantes-Laval, the round of 16 scheduled for Saturday… three days before the match. Initially scheduled for 2:30 p.m., the match was finally postponed to 5:30 p.m. due to the France-Iceland Euro handball match, the same day at 3:30 p.m.
“Thank you to the two clubs and the FFF for being able to respond favorably to our request”, indicated on X (ex-Twitter) the director of the BeIN Sports branches Florent Houzot. The manager, however, had no words for the Nantes and Laval supporters, directly impacted by this change of schedule 72 hours before the match.
If the holding of the Blues handball match at this time was made official on Wednesday, it had nevertheless been predictable for many weeks. The draw for the Euro was in fact made in May 2023, and France’s first place in the preliminary round is anything but a surprise.
26,000 tickets sold
“What contempt”, “What disrespect!” », We could read from supporters on the social network. For its part, the Federation laconically sent “its apologies for the inconvenience caused by this modification”. “We organize ourselves to come from Paris or Strasbourg and make the return trip during the day, with non-refundable train tickets (…) and we are the ones who bear the costs! », Reacted a Laval supporter on X.
“I can understand the supporters and the inconvenience caused, but initially, I had asked to schedule this Cup match at 2:30 p.m., away from the multiplex, precisely to highlight it,” explains Florent Houzot to the Team. The EHF, which organizes the Euro handball tournament, planned for the French team to play this Saturday at 6 p.m. if it finished first in its group or at 8:30 p.m. if it finished second. The Blues should therefore have played at 6 p.m..”
“Very upset”, Houzot continues: “It did not make me happy to call the FFF this morning to ask to postpone, I did it for the overall interest of my channel. I also have to respect our investments and our subscribers and find the balance in a very busy weekend, with the African Cup of Nations, the European Rugby Cup, etc. »
More than 1,100 supporters of the Mayenne club are expected for this match between two cities 140 km apart by land. According to West France26,000 tickets had already been sold on Sunday, while the Beaujoire can accommodate 35,000 spectators.
It’s shameful sir. You despise the trip of 1,100 supporters who had organized themselves for a week by taking leave and paying for train tickets. All this for the money. You shame football and you are not worthy of broadcasting the Coupe de France.
— RebeloTango (@rebelo_tango) January 17, 2024
This is not the first controversy surrounding the organization of these round of 16 matches. At the same time, several lower division clubs were singled out for prices deemed abusive, in contradiction with the spirit of the Coupe de France. Facing PSG, Orléans (National) thus put tickets on sale from 60 euros (including for Parisian supporters), while Rouen (National) was forced to lower its prices to receive Toulouse, in the face of criticism from his own supporters.
