Violence in the stadiums, boycott of supporters at La Mosson, reception of Lyon, reconstruction of the team after the departures of Laborde and Delort, declining financial resources, sporting ambitions… Offensive speech, accelerated flow, the president of the MHSC, Laurent Nicollin , goes up to the niche, without forgetting to recall that with the 14th budget of L1, Montpellier “” outperforms “for five years”.
President, Lyon, your opponent this Sunday, is at the heart of the controversy since OL – OM. What is your take on fan violence since the start of the season?
It fell on Lyon but it could have been anywhere, like the projectile throw at La Mosson against Olympique de Marseille at the start of the season. I don’t mind being a reflection of society and an escape, but at some point … For me, you have to distinguish two things: the isolated act of the person throwing something, which is human stupidity, and the mass phenomenon, as in Nice or Lens, with land invasions. In the latter case, you can manage it more or less by bringing in security, but a moron who throws a can at a player, we are powerless. We can’t put a steward behind every supporter
How to ensure security?
Whatever happens, whether it is the State, the League or the clubs which intervene, in conclusion, it is the club which is penalized by a closed door, a fine or a withdrawal of points. I don’t have the solution, I do not pretend to manage French society, that would be a great responsibility, because we have to do with societal acts. There is one thing to remember: when a player is injured, the game must stop, there is no procrastination. When 300 to 400 smoke bombs are thrown on a field, Saint-Etienne (against Angers) not to name them, the match simply cannot take place. We need strong acts, which penalize the clubs but also the supporters, even if some will not understand and will always be in excess.
Should we strengthen the sanctions apparatus?
Nobody cares and only focuses on the act itself, but the troublemakers during Montpellier-Marseille have been identified and handed over to the police by our security. In immediate appearance, they had a reminder of the law and a suspended month. The guy is out, everything is fine. It is only a reflection of society, the evil runs deep. Except that at one point, self-righteousness… So on the one hand it has to be… (snaps his fingers), and as soon as a guy throws something, the club is responsible. So, maybe we’ll put the nets back at La Mosson, it’s not out of heart, but hey … Even by strengthening our vigilance, we will not control isolated acts. I don’t know if football has a bad image, but we have to stop these incidents, because we have a great league, with a lot of good matches. There are enough of overflows on Sunday evening.
Let’s move on to your supporters, some of whom are boycotting the Mosson in order to protest against the health pass. When will they come back?
They started a movement which was initially followed at the national level. In their ideals and their logic of ultras, it was noble of them. Unfortunately, the supporters of the other clubs returned, but not ours. We look forward to them at La Mosson. Even if their logic is founded, they deprive themselves of satisfying their passion. But we need them. On Sunday, there will be 500 Lyon supporters who will yell, we will still have the impression of being outside. It’s a bit annoying, especially since we have a good team this year.
Despite everything, the Mosson is doing you well (14 points) …
(He cuts) The first assessment, we will do it within five matches after the reception of Angers. We start from a rebuilding team, with a new coach and emblematic players who have left us. We had to leave with young people, it does not happen in a snap. Even if I don’t like to talk about a transition season – we just have to win matches and go as high as possible – we are in a period where we are getting to know each other and to work.
Would you have signed for a tied 7th place a few weeks after the departure of Delort (Nice) and Laborde (Rennes)?
Yes, yes, but it’s the end of May that we’ll see if we made a success of our season.
We are not immune to anything. There is a little while before we have 40 points which will allow us to consider something else in the season. So, for sure, I would have preferred to keep these two players. We had to recreate a story, we showed that we were capable of it.
What are you going to tell your players before Lyon?
If I talk to the players it’s none of your business, that’s my problem. It is not the decisive game of the season either. You have to take between one and three points before playing “our” championship against Metz, Clermont, Brest and Angers. These are the matches that should allow us to sit in the top ten. Me, I do not box against Olympique Lyonnais, Rennes or Nice.
OL is the big event …
I don’t have a special meeting, except with Mr. Aulas for a coffee before the match. No, no… We will have to stop believing that we are going to be neck and neck with Lyon, Nice or Rennes, which recruited for 84 M €. That we dream, that we want to go as high as possible, we will do it. But we are the 14th budget of L1, whereas we were the 12th year of the title ten years ago. When I speak of the new stadium, it is not to give me glory, but there is a cause and effect relationship. We are regressing, it does not alert anyone and, at the same time, we are being asked to be European. Yeah, let’s stay in Ligue 1.
What are your ambitions then?
I like to win. To have lost in Rennes (2-0), even if they are superior, I cannot stand it. After that, I have stages: being in the top ten, then doing as well as last year (8th), and if we can do better, we will. But I would like people to realize that we have been “outperforming” for five years, maybe because we recruit intelligently and work well. This year, finally, we have young people coming out. They weren’t good last year, they are this year, so much the better, hallelujah. As long as I do not have a new tool, an additional 15 million euros in budget, we will regress.
So we say, Nicollin, he can put money. But Nicollin he can also sell in Qatar and you will get on with the Qataris, the Emiratis or the Chinese, that too is an option. I try to take the club as high as possible but the ambitions we had before the Covid and the Médiapro affair, where our budget had gone from 44 to 70 M €, have been stopped in their dynamics. And today I don’t have the stadium to compensate. There, I would tell you that we are hosting Lyon sold out at the Louis-Nicollin stadium, with our 4,000 VIPs sold and our boxes full, we would try to compete with the great Olympique Lyonnais.
But no, Sunday, we are going to be 13,000, it is starting to get cold, to rain… That too is hopeless. You have the cheapest seats in Ligue 1 and people don’t come to the stadium. You fight and, in the end, you are told that you are not European.
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