Finally ! Almost four and a half months after the end of competitions due to the coronavirus, French football will be able to resume its rights this Friday evening, with the final of the Coupe de France. On the ground, PSG will start as big favorites against AS Saint-Étienne, who had not reached this stage of the event for 38 years.
But coronavirus requires, this meeting will be played in a completely new context, with an audience limited to 5,000 spectators at the Stade de France. Europe 1 presents five things to know about this final really like no other.
>> The final PSG - Saint-Étienne can be watched live on Europe1 and Europe1.fr, kick off at 9:10 p.m.
An audience limited to less than 5,000 people, but without ultras
Since July 11, sporting events in France can take place with the public, within the limit of a maximum capacity of 5,000 people, players and organization included. Several friendly football matches thus welcomed the public, in sparse stands. The final of the Coupe de France, on the other hand, is the first official competitive match since mid-March to welcome the public among the five major football countries (Spain, England, Germany, Italy, France).
By subtracting from this limit figure of 5,000 people the players, their management, the organization, the officials, the journalists or the stewards, there are only 3,500 tickets left for the spectators, of which 1,200 are reserved for each club. A figure considered too small by the ultras of PSG and ASSE who voluntarily refused to attend the match, not wishing to choose among their thousands of members the privileged few who could benefit from a ticket.
The turns of the stadium will therefore be closed, with tarpaulins in the colors of PSG and ASSE, and the public will be confined to the first ring, at the bottom of each central stand, near the lawn. Saint-Etienne, moreover, decided not to sell a general public ticket for the meeting in order to respect the choice of its ultras. Funny atmosphere in perspective at the Stade de France ...
Claude #Puel: "We would have preferred this @CoupedeFrance final to be played with our supporters. Against Rennes, we had an extraordinary match. The scenario and the end of the match were enormous. These images went around the world. " pic.twitter.com/971RBVufp8
- AS Saint-Étienne (@ASSEofficiel) July 23, 2020Discover the podcast "Associate n ° 1, the birth of a great club in Paris"
Did you know that Paris Saint-Germain almost didn't see the light of day? Its hatching, 50 years ago, is even a miracle. The club owes its survival only to the steel will of passionate men. Discover this story in "Partner n ° 1, the birth of a great club in Paris", the new podcast of Europe 1 Studio, and go back in time to the origins of PSG.
>>> Find the episodes on our Europe 1.fr site and on Apple podcasts, SoundCloud or your usual listening platforms.
Gel masks and traffic signs for spectators
At the Ministry of Sports, it is specified that the question of this limit of 5,000 people must be examined soon by the executive. In the meantime, from Friday, the progress of the public in the Stade de France will be supervised in order to manage the flow, with barriers and arrow markings on the ground.
Wearing a mask will be compulsory for "all people, all the time," says a source close to the FFF, and hydroalcoholic gel terminals will be placed in the enclosure. Social distancing will also be maintained in the stands with places left vacant between different family or friendly groups. The attitude of the public will in any case be closely scrutinized, a few days after the start of a controversy linked to the non-respect of barrier gestures by Parisian supporters, during the friendly match against the Belgian club Beveren at the Parc des Princes.
A delivery of the trophy on the lawn, and not in the stands
Contrary to custom, the victorious team will not climb into the presidential stand to be awarded the Coupe de France. A podium will be erected on the lawn and the trophy placed on a stele. While tradition wants the President of the Republic to hand it over to the victors, the victorious captain will seize it himself, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron and Noël Le Graët, and no one other than him and his team. will only be entitled to touch the trophy.
Likewise, the two teams and the referees will receive a medal, which they will seize by themselves on a plate. What will not change, however, are the images of celebration: brandished trophy, triumphant team and rain of confetti ...
The favorite long-haired PSG
On the ground, the PSG obviously leaves big favorite. The reigning French champions have revenge to take on last year's final against Rennes (2-2, 6 tab to 5), a defeat experienced as a humiliation. The Parisian stars, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in the lead, will in any case be present for this resumption match, which marks the start of a very busy summer for them.
Because after the final of the Coupe de France, PSG will aim for the national treble against Lyon, in the Coupe de la Ligue final this time, in a week and again at the Stade de France. These two matches will above all be life-size tests before the most important meeting of the Parisian season: the quarter-final of the Champions League against Atalanta Bergamo on August 12, opening the final eight-way tournament in Lisbon. . PSG dreams of winning three trophies and marking the history of French football, the summer of the fiftieth anniversary of its creation.
The Greens 38 years later
For Saint-Etienne, who will replay his first Coupe de France final since 1982, the interruption linked to the coronavirus made it possible to evacuate the bad memories of a catastrophic 2019-2020 season, finished in 17th place in L1. The Greens have all the same experienced months behind the scenes, with the dismissal at the beginning of July of the emblematic goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier, in the Forez since 2011. Because the coach Claude Puel is engaged in a phase of reconstruction, not hesitating to tackle several historical figures of the workforce.
Another symbol that a page is turning in Saint-Étienne: captain Loïc Perrin, who has spent his entire career at the club (he arrived in 1997!), Could play his last game on Friday before retiring. So, what could be better than finishing with a victory in the Coupe de France final…