Two Ligue 1 matches were played last night. Nantes beat Rennes (2-1) and Nice dominated Saint-Étienne 4-2. But in Nice, we unfortunately remember what happened in the stands. Nice supporters sang a song to smear the memory of Emiliano Sala, the former Nantes player who died in a plane crash. We have taken another step into the unacceptable.
A season marked by incidents
It’s good, we end the season with a bang. We started it with matches interrupted, bottles thrown at players, pitch invasions and even a pitched battle in the stands. We therefore thought we had seen the worst of some supporters’ stupid and irresponsible behavior in a stadium. It was without counting on these Niçois who pushed the cursor to abjection last night. Hijacking a song of tribute to a tragically deceased player to insult his memory. So there we are. The night passed, the stupor remained.
Emiliano Sala was an Argentinian player who played for FC Nantes. He had to leave the club to go to Cardiff. And his plane crashed into the sea when he joined Wales in January 2019. As he wore the number 9 on his jersey, at La Beaujoire, in the 9th minute of play, the supporters pay tribute to him by singing “He’s an Argentinian who doesn’t give up, Emiliano Sala”.
A “remix” of the song that does not pass
And there, last night, Nice supporters adapted the lyrics to chant: “He’s an Argentine who doesn’t swim well, Émiliano under water”. When do you go to the stadium and tell yourself that you are going to insult the memory of a dead person? The worst part is that we are not talking about two isolated people. This song was widely audible. So there is still a mass of idiots who were born before the shame in these forums. Because OGC Nice, the club they support, lost against FC Nantes in the final of the Coupe de France, do they come to this unspeakable behavior the next match? There comes a time when there is no point in looking for explanations.
press release#OGCNice
—OGC Nice (@ogcnice) May 11, 2022
OGC Nice issued a statement condemning these supporters and apologizing to the player’s family.
Galtier very upset against his supporters
How could it be otherwise? These supporters, in addition to trampling on the memory of a player, also tarnish the image of their club. And behind, the other Nice supporters must apologize, stand out from these people. Always the same thing. Fortunately, once again, the coach of Nice, Christophe Galtier, was able to find the right words, attacking his own supporters directly. ‘You just don’t belong there.’ This is what he tells them.
Once again, we will have to find them, these singers without a brain. It should be possible. Go hop, stadium ban, you will rather make vocalizations at the police station at match time, no one will regret you. And good luck to those who spend time defending the supporters. Because of these, all the stands will still be singled out. Inevitably, that either, they did not think of it. Thinking is like decency and morals, not up their alley.