AS Saint-Etienne officially fell into Ligue 2 on May 29, after losing their return play-off against AJ Auxerre.
That evening, pyrotechnic devices were thrown in all directions, on the lawn and in the official stand, by dozens of ultras from Saint-Etienne who invaded the field just after the match.
The chairman of the executive board of ASSE Roland Romeyer speaks for the first time, this Monday, on this climate of chaos that reigned in the Cauldron on May 29.
Six weeks after the dramatic epilogue to the Saint-Etienne season, on May 29 in the play-off against AJ Auxerre, we were still waiting for a real reaction from Roland Romeyer.
To know something other than this strange press release prepared with Bernard Caïazzo and swung 15 minutes after the formalization of the rout of the club, to succinctly evoke "the painful sanction of relegation to Ligue 2".
In view of the terrible incidents involving dozens of ultras armed with dangerous pyrotechnic objects of all kinds, this observation was a hell of an understatement.
This Monday, Roland Romeyer returns for
Le Progrès
on this evening of chaos, which has since cost AS Saint-Etienne three points and four closed games behind closed doors.
“This May 29 was terrible, recognizes the 76-year-old leader.
I was really afraid that irresponsible behavior, going as far as mortar fire in the direction of the official platform, would lead to death, and that the lawn of Geoffroy-Guichard would never be stained with blood.
We deplored nearly 40 injuries, including supporters, police, stewards and even players.
What is certain is that without close collaboration with the authorities, authorities, communities and justice, in Saint-Étienne as elsewhere, we will not succeed.
»
Roland Romeyer regrets "an incitement to hatred"
In addition to this nightmarish evening, which has not been followed by any arrests so far, the chairman of the ASSE board has also confirmed the threats he has suffered at his home in recent months.
“I received death threats.
Five times people came to my village.
They damaged traffic and road signs with inscriptions or by sticking up posters.
They put up banners.
They entered my property by climbing the gate.
They tagged on the wall of my property and threw cans of paint.
" He pursues :
They fired smoke bombs in the middle of the night and threw agricultural bombs at my house.
I am thinking above all of my family who were regularly verbally abused.
»
And concludes: “What I very much regret is this incitement to hatred.
Despite all these attacks, there was never any question for me of moving.
»
So many reasons prompting Roland Romeyer to be clearer than ever regarding his intentions for ASSE: “My desire to sell the club is firm and irrevocable.
And this even if the exclusive negotiations with the American businessman David Blitzer have recently failed.
“No firm offer has been submitted within the timeframe he promised to give it to us,” he assures us.
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Soccer
AS Saint-Etienne (ASSE)
Roland Romeyer
Saint Etienne
Ultras
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Sport