In the world before the coronavirus epidemic, things were simple. The football supporter looked at the schedule and the name of the opponent before setting aside his afternoon or evening to come and cheer on his team at the stadium. Sometimes he even crammed with the others in a minibus, to support her on the move and spend part of her weekend on the roads. But since the start of this 2020-2021 season, he must above all take into account a map of France that turns red, and watch for the prefectural decisions to know at what reduced gauge it will be eaten. For some, the in camera has come to decide the issue and may soon put everyone on an equal footing.
This is the case for the supporters of Olympique Lyonnais. On Sunday October 25, OL feasted against Monaco (4-1) but the evening took place in front of the empty bays of Groupama Stadium. Subscriber to South Turn, Jonathan has already mourned his season “face to face”. “I didn’t even try to get tickets for the first matches, he said. I didn’t have the heart to come up with a 1,000-person gauge, it didn’t make too much sense for me in a 59,000-seat stadium. Now the question does not even arise. I have no choice but to follow OL on TV. “
“It’s not just football”
To return to the stadium or not? The debate animated the groups of supporters in August, at the time of the resumption of the championship of France after a fallow of five months due to the early stoppage of the previous season. For some, the problem was quickly resolved. For the Bad Gones in Lyon, or for the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) of the PSG for example, it was not conceivable to resume the path of the stands with a gauge reduced to 1000, which would have forced these groups to sort between their members.
In Lens, the 1994 Red Tigers adopted the same position even though the situation in Pas-de-Calais still allowed 5,000 spectators to be accommodated at the Felix-Bollaert stadium. Alexandre Mathieu, a regular at the Marek stand – “I am 30 years old and I have been a subscriber since I was 9” -, yet there met some “Tigers” who came individually to encourage their Racing. “I don’t see the situation well, he admits. Bollaert, it’s not just football. It is also finding friends before and after the match. I compare it to the Dunkirk festival. You forget about social class, you find yourself between a lawyer and an unemployed person. “
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