Football: facing the Covid-19, the regulations of the Coupe de France modified to avoid forfeits


The French Football Federation (FFF) decided this Friday, December 31 to relax the regulations of the Coupe de France to allow the holding of the round of 16 scheduled for January 2 to 4 and faced with an increase in cases of Covid in clubs .

The FFF will exceptionally suspend the article of the regulations of the Coupe de France, which requires that “on the match sheet, at least seven players who took part in one of the last two official matches played by their first team”. This violation of the rule is the response to an extreme situation, with a large number of players testing positive before the start of the round of 16 of the competition, scheduled for January 2 to 4, 2022. The Girondins de Bordeaux club is particularly affected, with 21 players unavailable over 30 days before his match against Brest.

“It forces us to play”, noted the doctor of the Girondins, Thierry Delmeule. The first team had only one defender and six valid attackers, and will have to draw on the reserve team and among the young people of the club. Without asking explicitly, the management of Bordeaux hoped that this cluster would allow them to obtain a postponement, like that obtained in Ligue 1 by Angers. This club announced Thursday 19 positive cases in its workforce, a serious handicap before facing Saint-Etienne. Ligue 1, unlike the FFF, accepted the principle of postponement.

The Bordeaux coach made against bad luck, and is preparing to integrate the players of Nationale 3 into his workforce. “I will try to make a mixed group to put all the chances on our side”, explained Vladimir Petkovic. “We have been pretty good at getting out of the difficulties so far”, he reassures, “we have to help each other, stand together”. Outsider of Brest in the L1 standings, and diminished by absences in the Cup, Bordeaux now sees its match in Brittany as “the opportunity to create a big surprise”.





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