The attempt at conciliation, scheduled by videoconference, between the two parties in conflict for several months was postponed at the request of Me Dorothée Bisaccia-Bernstein, the player’s lawyer.
This meeting of the legal commission of the LFP is requested by AS Saint-Étienne “for an attempt at conciliation on a possible early termination of the employment contract for serious misconduct”, in application of the professional football charter, according to the daily The Team.
The Saint-Etienne club, for its part, refuses to speak on the basis of the “envisaged disciplinary sanction” for “disciplinary breaches” blamed on the player after his summons on December 2 by his general manager, Xavier Thuilot.
His contract is due to end on June 30.
Stéphane Ruffier, 34, was laid off on November 19 by his club for leaving an individual training session prematurely.
The Stéphanois goalkeeper, excluded from the professional group since the end of July, had seized the legal commission of the Professional Football League which in particular ordered the club to reinstate him.
The ASSE having appealed against this decision, the protagonists of this case are also summoned on Friday before the Appeal Committee of the LFP.
The Basque goalkeeper, who has played 383 matches in the Saint Etienne jersey since arriving in summer 2011 from Monaco, is the one who has played the most for the Greens in the first division, ahead of the legendary Ivan Curkovic.
His contract is due to end on June 30. The porter of the Greens, who enjoys one of the highest salaries of the professional workforce (approximately 2.8 million euros annually) has been in dispute with ASSE since February 23 after the decision of general manager Claude Puel to put him to rest for the Ligue 1 match against Reims (1-1). He hasn’t played since.
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