The re-election of Vincent Labrune this week as president of the Professional Football League continues to make waves. Confirmed in his role with no less than 85% of the votes in the General Assembly, the leader is back for another four years in office. And if Vincent Labrune easily got the better of his drafted challenger, Cyril Linette, it is because the presidents of Ligue 1 clubs have overwhelmingly acclaimed him. And that does not go down well with Emmanuel Petit.
The last French goal scorer in the World Cup final won by Les Bleus against Brazil in 1998, the man who is now a consultant on RMC was seized by a fit of anger against the leaders of French football. What happened in the electorate recently is nonsense. It’s a banana republic. It’s been around for so long that I’m surprised people are surprised. ” And the former midfielder continued his speech with an irritation that was still very present.
“They want to die together”
” This billion mark (for Ligue 1 TV rights, editor’s note) was nonsense. It was surreal. (…) Why did they make this contract with CVC? It was to avoid going bankrupt. But then we come out of the (COVID-19) pandemic and we continue to do the same stupid things. A few years ago, before the pandemic, French football was already cutting itself off from its own fans. They haven’t thought about their fans for a long time. ” And Emmanuel Petit continued by referring to an expression used by Vincent Labrune after his re-election.
” Today, they are even cutting themselves off from consumers. People prefer not to pay anymore. They call it ‘a first premium’? But stop making fun of me. A premium product that no one looks at and for which no one wants to spend. These people have been responsible for the vanity that is constantly vampires them for fifteen years. They eat each other. And when you see what happened with the elections, it is only the result of all that. They want to stay among themselves and die together. (…) They are gravediggers.”
