The joy of the young members of the Association du football virois, to the sound of the Gala song “Free yourself from desire”, smacks of a successful atmosphere for the amateur club (National 3). The feat came behind the scenes on Tuesday, December 27, like a Christmas present that arrives just after the hour. The French Football Federation gave Vire a winning match against neighbor Caen (Ligue 2) in the 8th round of the Coupe de France, despite winning Caen on 21 December, 3-0, marred by an administrative error. “It falls from the sky, savors Christophe Lecuyer, the president of Virois. After the match, Caen called us to say they thought they had made a mistake. We feel sorry for them, but we will take advantage! »
The error in question is quite serious for a professional club: against Vire, Caen played Dieudonné Gaucho Debohi, captain of the reserve team. However, he was suspended for accumulating yellow cards. “There has been a misinterpretation of the regulation, regretted the sporting director of SM Caen, Yohan Eudeline, in the club’s press release. Dieudonné had received his cards in the national team 2 (with the reserve team, therefore) and served his suspension match in this championship. But the regulation provides that he would also have had to serve the penalty with the professional team, weaned from the matches for the national teams’ break for the World Cup. The player therefore should not have appeared on December 21 in the Coupe de France.
This failure of the Ligue 2 club has sparked the ire of the fans, who are very ironic on social media. The sporting director also apologized to Malherbe president Normandy Kop. A situation all the more embarrassing as Caen had already been expelled from the Coupe de France on the green carpet in 2006 in Longuenesse, in the North, for poor regulatory enforcement. At the end of December 2022, the federation promptly indicated that the facts had “materialized”. This Tuesday 27, SM Caen “has taken note of the decision and wishes the Vire club good luck for the rest of the competition”.
The continuation on January 7 against FC Nantes
The rest will be written on January 7 against FC Nantes. “It’s historic. Nantes are the defending champions, a team that plays for Europe. They will face Lyon right after us, Juventus Turin in February. And also Vire”, enthuses Christophe Lécuyer. The day after qualifying, the president of Virois went to negotiate with his counterpart from Caen to host the match at the Michel-d’Ornano stadium in Caen, where the eyes of the amateurs shone against the Caennese, despite the defeat in home the ground 3-0. The management of the SMC has given its agreement. “There is no time to waste! You quickly learn to organize such matches, but it will come soon. We are happy to play in the regional stadium ”, projects the president of the bocage club. 4800 spectators, including a good part of Virois, came to see Vire-Caen.There is no doubt that they will be much more numerous against Nantes Canaries.
It is therefore an unexpected, rare result that balances a Calvados derby with an incredible soap opera. The match was to be played on 19 November. The French Football Federation had postponed at the last moment due to the presence of a temporary grandstand on the Pierre Compte de Vire stadium, invalidated by an unknown and surprising settlement point. On 17 December Virois and Caennais found themselves with a guest: frost, which led to a new postponement. The bout was finally moved to Caen and won by the Caennais, in vain. This administrative authorization allows AF Vire to receive an additional 30,000 euros. Christmas gifts appreciated after all these adventures. Better still, this interminable neighbors party will be followed by the prestigious manifesto against Nantes. What, however, to vibrate the stadium of Ornano and Calvados in the Coupe de France.
