This is yet another twist in this never-ending affair. Beginning in February with the sidelining of the goalkeeper, who has not worn the green jersey since, the Ruffier affair saw another unexpected episode on Monday. While he risked being notified of his dismissal for misconduct, the 33-year-old is only punished with six days withholding from his salary, which amounts to 2.8 million euros annually according to a club source.
“A not particularly heavy sanction”
This sanction “is not particularly heavy, especially since his behavior had already earned him a warning when resuming training, following the long period of confinement”, commented the same source.
The decision of the management of the Saint-Etienne club was notified to the player on Monday by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. Once the letter is received, his layoff, which had been served on him on July 15 through a bailiff, will end. In fact, the international goalkeeper should therefore participate in the resumption of training for the Greens on Thursday.
On July 10, Stéphane Ruffier refused to take part in part of the training when he was called up with the unsuccessful players to play against Nice the next day at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium. He is also said to be accused of being late in training.
In practice Thursday?
His management immediately dismissed him and summoned him to explain himself, along with a staff representative, in this case Loïc Perrin, the captain of ASSE. Was it Ruffier’s defense during this interview, and his employer’s difficulty in proving the seriousness of the fault in the eyes of the courts that was at the origin of this about-face?
On leaving confinement, Claude Puel, the coach of the Greens, confirmed that the Basque footballer would no longer be the N.1 goalkeeper this season. A position now occupied by Jessy Moulin. Author of a brilliant match in the Coupe de France final on Friday against PSG (1-0), the ASSE general manager is unlikely to question the new hierarchy decided upon on the restart.
Will Ruffier, who has a year left on his contract, will return to training with a low profile, in an attempt to try to reclaim his number one spot? How will he manage his icy relationship for months with Claude Puel? Will he be able to cohabit peacefully with Moulin, with whom relations would also be strained, knowing that he will now have to do without Fabrice Grange, his specific coach for nine years who preferred to leave the club in June? So many questions that will continue to fuel the soap opera.