With his usual outspokenness, Strasbourg coach Thierry Laurey gave his opinion on the new Ligue 1 timetables, which will be broadcast by Mediapro from next season, and this one is decided. These new schedules include a match at 1 p.m. and four at 3 p.m. on Sunday, which does not delight the Alsatian coach.
– –
“Once during a match with GFC Ajaccio against Monaco at 2 p.m., I thought I was going to die. And I was on the bench, so I’m not even talking about the players’ feelings. Mediapro will have to look into the problem. Between the matches in the middle of winter in Lille, Strasbourg or Metz and the matches in the middle of summer Nice, Marseille, Montpellier, Monaco and Nîmes, I can tell you that it will wear out. We will play, there is no problem. But it is not possible that in the middle of summer, during a match in the South at 1 p.m., the spectacle is up to par. It’s impossible “, said Laurey.
– –
“The Chinese will see us like that”
“We realized this season that often the 3pm matches were not very attractive, it was better at 5pm, and at 9pm it would run like rabbits, he continued, to justify his point of view. No, playing at 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. in the summer doesn’t bother me. But like playing at 9 p.m. in the middle of winter. I know how delicate it is for the players and the public. But it’s like that. When your passion is your job, there are sacrifices to be made. The Chinese will see us like this (laughs). »
– –
Laurey also refused to allow Strasbourg to play a friendly match in the early afternoon during preparation, as he revealed: “A club would have liked to face us in these conditions, but I refused saying that we would have enough time to do so between late August and early September. “
– – .
