“We have discussed enough, you are cracking us up”; “Coaches, players, managers: all responsible for this chaos”. The banners deployed by the supporters of AS Saint-Etienne on the sidelines of the match against Angers, this Friday evening at the opening of the 11th day of Ligue 1, are ambiguous.
It reflects the discontent that has animated the supporters for many weeks, due to the poor results of their team, the red lantern of Ligue 1.
After giving Claude Puel 24 hours to leave his post, this week, the fans of the Greens, and in particular the Green Angels, disrupted the pre-match against Angers, this Friday evening, causing the postponement of the kick-off of several minutes.
Holes with holes, delayed kick-off
Once their banner was deployed, the ultras from Saint-Etienne threw many smoke bombs on the lawn. Some landed in the two goals of the lawn of Geoffroy-Guichard, piercing the nets in several places.
The referee, M. Gautier, had no choice but to send the players and staff back to the locker room, since the match could not start under these conditions.
Due to these incidents, a thick cordon of CRS was deployed around the lawn, especially near the technical area of Claude Puel.
After more than 45 minutes of interruption, the two teams returned to the pitch to finally start the match. But a message broadcast on the giant screens of the stadium warned the supporters: at the slightest incident, the match will be “definitively” stopped.