INTERVIEW
He is one of the few Ligue 1 presidents to have risen to the heights during the Covid-19 crisis. Laurent Nicollin, the son of - the late - Louis Nicollin, said it over and over on Europe 1: "The state told us to stop, I'm a legalist, when the state says stop, we say stop. " And even when the other countries, where the coronavirus has been a murderer, football takes back its rights, as in Spain for example, out of the question to change the discourse: "There is a decision that has been made, it must be followed and stop banging your head against the wall. It’s been taken, and we’re not going to talk about it for 6 months, 6 years or 12 years. Even if it means having a lost season, as much as it is the 2019/2020 season and not 2020/2021 (because TV rights will be almost doubled, editor's note ) ".
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Presidents who "feel stronger than government"
If it nuances the tense relations that there may have been in recent days between the presidents of professional clubs - "We are not all to get lost, it is not war either between the presidents of football , you must not exaggerate." -, Laurent Nicollin does not understand that some are bent on wanting a resumption of Ligue 1. "To defend his club, I find it totally logical and well founded. After there is to defend and defend", details on Europe 1 the boss of the Paillade club. "Sometimes there are defensible cases where you can go all the way to find the best solution for your club and sometimes there are complicated things to do."
And to add, ironically without quoting the presidents it aims: "We were a majority of presidents to wish the recovery. Unless some presidents feel above the law and stronger than the government. I am a good French, I try to do like the others. After, it is better to defend the general interest than its own interest, it is a pity. I wait to see if Italy and England will take again. the Netherlands stopped their championship, nobody has the truth. The only thing that is sure is that there is a virus which is still there, which kills people, it is necessary to have a little decency vis to that. "
A budget lowered for the 2020/2021 season
Montpellier, eighth in Ligue 1 when the championship stopped, will also suffer from this crisis, like all the other clubs. "It will be complicated but we will limit the breakage. For the next season, we are leaving with a lot of fears and uncertainties. We will have a forecast budget between minus 15 and minus 20 million euros", estimates Laurent Nicollin on Europe 1 . "TV rights are more or less established, we do not know if the matches will be behind closed doors, the 20/21 season will be difficult, but as for all French society. We will not feel sorry for ourselves football. As long as there is no vaccine, we will suffer for a few months. It will be between 12 and 15 months complicated to live. "