Will play ? Will not play? As we write these lines, it is still total vagueness around the trip of AS Saint-Étienne to Strasbourg this Sunday (3 p.m., match of the 20th day of Ligue 1). Struck by several positive cases of Covid-19, the Greens will a priori make the trip to Alsace. This does not necessarily ensure the holding of the match. Explanation:
Claude Puel tested positive
Affected by at least nine positive cases within its group of professional players (plus at least eight among staff members), AS Saint-Étienne urgently organized a new series of tests this Saturday morning. In the evening of this Saturday, the club did not communicate the results of these tests (it is not known if the club obtained them). But according to our partner Evect, Claude Puel tested positive this Saturday.
The general manager of the Greens therefore did not make the trip to Alsace. In the absence also of his assistants Jacky Bonnevay, Julien Sablé and the goalkeeper coach André Biancarelli, it is Laurent Huard, former assistant to Claude Puel and today within the management of the training center who could officiate in as number one on the bench in Alsace.
The match postponed to the last minute?
The Covid protocol of the Professional Football League establishes in September that if 20 players, including a goalkeeper, out of a list of 30 (communicated in September to the LFP) are negative, the match can take place.
The protocol also specifies that the test results can be communicated up to six hours before the kick-off of a match by the club’s medical representative to the LFP’s Covid committee. So until 9 a.m. this Sunday morning. The last tests will therefore depend on whether or not the match is held. But also if, for example, a player wakes up this Sunday morning with symptoms, the Covid commission could decide not to take a risk and to postpone the meeting.
Strasbourg wants to play
With nine defeats in its first eleven Ligue 1 games, Strasbourg has had a catastrophic start to the season. But the Alsatians have been raising their heads since the end of November. Last weekend, thanks to their second consecutive victory, they even passed the Greens in the standings (15th).
“Boys are bound to feel much better RC Strasbourg coach Thierry Laurey explains. We have 20 points and it is starting to be interesting. We must not let points slip away from teams (ASSE editor’s note) that are within our range of action. ”
The right time to take them – Anthony Caci, RCSA defender
Saint-Étienne is therefore expected to be firm at La Meinau. The Greens remain on a defeat and have not won for five games. It was not lost on Strasbourg defender Anthony Caci: “They have been struggling for a long time. We must stay on our good momentum so as not to let them reverse the trend. I think it’s a good time to take them. “
- Strasbourg – Saint-Étienne: A meeting to be experienced live and in full on France Bleu Saint-Étienne Loire from 2:30 p.m. this Sunday