Saint-Etienne (AFP)

AS Saint-Etienne "is studying the follow-up to be given after a refusal to train from his goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier", we learned on Tuesday from the club which denounces "a failure" on the part of the player.

Ruffier (33) was summoned Friday morning with the players not selected to play against Nice (4-1), Saturday at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, but he "did not want to train".

"It is therefore a breach and the club is studying the follow-up to be given to the situation," the club told AFP.

The episode marks a new stage in the deterioration of relations between the player and his club.

Stéphane Ruffier, who has played 383 matches in the Stéphanois jersey since his arrival in summer 2011 from Monaco, is the goalkeeper who has played the most with the Greens in the 1st division, ahead of the legendary Ivan Curkovic.

He also hadn't played ASSE's first friendly match this summer against Rumilly-Vallières (N3, 5th div), won 4-1.

Already, Ruffier had been dismissed by general manager Claude Puel for the reception of Reims in Ligue 1, on February 23, and replaced by his usual lining, Jessy Moulin.

In the process, Ruffier's agent, Patrick Glanz, had made very harsh remarks against Puel, to which ASSE had responded by initiating legal proceedings against Glanz for not having to pay him his last commission of 180,000 euros.

At the end of the confinement, Claude Puel had confirmed that Moulin would be the N.1 goalkeeper of the Greens this season and that Ruffier, who receives 2.8 million euros annually - the biggest salary in the club - would be N.2 .

However, facing Nice, Moulin and young Stefan Bajic (18) shared the playing time in the goals.

Since the resumption of training, ASSE goalkeepers' coach, Fabrice Grange, close to Ruffier, and the club separated "by mutual agreement" on June 25. He was replaced by André Biancarelli.

© 2020 AFP