OGC Nice does not have time to digest its disillusionment in the Coupe de France. Beaten in the final by Lens (3-1), the Aiglons must quickly return to a crucial issue: remaining in Ligue 1, with a perilous first leg play-off on the AS Saint-Étienne pitch on Tuesday May 26.
A meeting already under high tension, which is accompanied by a particularly strict security context. Following the incidents that occurred during the last meeting at the Allianz Riviera, the disciplinary committee at first instance imposed a closed-door sanction for the return match.
And the outward journey will not be more open to Nice supporters. The Ministry of the Interior has confirmed the total travel ban on Riviera fans. In a decree signed by Laurent Nuñez, it is specified that “the individual or collective movement, by any means, of any person claiming to be a supporter of OGC Nice or behaving as such” is prohibited between the Alpes-Maritimes and Saint-Étienne on the day of the match.
A Nice-LFP agreement
As a result, the visitor parking lot should remain empty in the Cauldron. A situation that AS Saint-Étienne is however trying to change at the margins. According to ProgressSaint-Etienne leaders are negotiating with the authorities to obtain a possible re-sale of these places at the last minute, in order to further increase the number of people in Geoffroy-Guichard.
A scenario which remains conditional on several agreements, in particular that of OGC Nice and the League. Nothing has been decided yet, even if the enthusiasm around the Saint-Etienne venue, announced to be sold out in record time, suggests that these tickets would find buyers without difficulty.
