“All to Jean-Bouin for the maintenance operation”. Silent since the incidents in Le Havre on December 7 where a scuffle pitted them against the Old Clan, the Ultras Lutetia themselves communicated on their networks their return to the Capital stand this Sunday against Angers. They had until then been sanctioned by Paris FC which, based on video surveillance images, had determined that they were at the origin of these incidents, the consequence of several years of tension between the two groups. “Between them, it was a pressure cooker that had been threatening to explode for a long time,” confides an expert on the matter.
The club had deprived the Ultras Lutetia (UL) of entertainment (no megaphone, stage and banners on December 13 against Toulouse) and travel. The group, which has 950 members, was not present at the Parc des Princes during the two derbies against PSG and last Sunday in Nantes where the Beaujoire park sounded hollow with only 41 Paris FC supporters.
While awaiting the judicial aspect, several members of the UL have already been sanctioned individually. Paris FC has thus issued around ten commercial stadium bans (ICS). The longest is 18 months for the individual identified as the one who dealt the most blows. For some, this ICS measure was also accompanied by an administrative stadium ban.
After hitting hard, Paris FC then had several meetings and telephone exchanges with the leaders of the UL. The club has decided to authorize their return with all their entertainment material from this match against Angers. The travel ban will also end from February 1.
“The management of Paris FC took its responsibilities and took the necessary measures after behavior in Le Havre which was unacceptable,” explains Jean-Marc Gallot, the general director. Such actions are not acceptable so we have taken action. But in the interest of appeasement, because the club believes that the link with its supporters is important, we have renewed a dialogue with them to define a Modus operandi until the end of the season and for the future. »
“The UL understood the sanctions caused by the clashes in Le Havre,” adds President Pierre Ferracci. We have always had frank and direct relationships with them and they know that we are ready to help them when they put all their energy, all their heart into supporting our team, both at Jean-Bouin and outside. They also know that the club’s project is arousing a lot of interest today and that we have a duty to set an example. After this bad moment in Normandy, we of course made it clear to the UL leaders that we needed their support and wanted to find them in the position that the players and managers greatly appreciate, with the enthusiasm they show behind our colors. I think they heard us and we will have confirmation of this against Angers and OM. »
The Old Clan will change platforms
It is clear that the UL will now be placed under close surveillance and that the club will no longer tolerate any slippage. This Saturday, before their big return to the stadium, members of the group distributed food to the O’Coeur de la rue association in the 14th century and organized a Porte de la Villette maraude to donate clothes, collected during collections (Auxerre and Toulouse matches) to Jean-Bouin.
After the clashes in Le Havre where its tarpaulin was torn off and burned, the Old Clan (OC) decided to move opposite the UL, with whom proximity became impossible. They will sit in the Eiffel stand. The club agreed. But in accordance with the Ultra code when a group has its tarpaulin stolen, the Old Clan nevertheless continues its dormancy. Internally, its members continue to discuss the future of the group. As during the derbies against PSG, if some (around 60) will be present this Sunday, it will only be on an individual basis. There will be no tarpaulin in the group’s colors. “We remain supporters, if people want to sing, we will sing,” we are told.
Paris FC, which has only won two home games this season, should therefore be able to count on a lively stadium against Angers. “We feel that the public is ready to push us, if we succeed in wrapping up the match, they will bring us energy and will be even more behind us,” hopes coach Stéphane Gilli
Between the club and its Ultras, there seems to be a common desire to start again on new bases. “For the three upcoming matches, we are counting on the support of our supporters, the Ultras Lutetia but also the Old Clan in a form to be determined for them,” concludes Jean-Marc Gallot. We are at the beginning of our story, it must be written with the players, the spectators and our supporters. »
