The small world of Provencal football is wondering this Monday about the Regional 2 Mediterranean League match ended with a 22-1 river victory for AC Arles against FC Septèmes on Sunday. Especially since the result could impact the race for the climb. Each in their own way, the two clubs claim to be in good faith.
Arles-Septèmes was not a rugby or handball match, but a football match. Contrary to what the more than unbalanced score, 22-1, would suggest. An astonishing and very large success which caused a scent of scandal to blow over Provence this Monday.
With this almost unreal victory, the Arlesians, trained by Michel Estevan, passed Sunday evening at the top of Pool C of Regional 2 Mediterranean League. Thanks, of course, to a better goal difference than the now ex-leader, FC Martigues.
The result of the match in « reserve »
The latter, the first impacted by this river difference between the two teams during this penultimate day, casts doubt on this result. Alerted by this score and the many reactions aroused, the Mediterranean League has launched an investigation around this match. The result of which, announced by Arles on its social networks without displaying the score, remains in « reserve » on the League site for the moment.
AC Arles (formerly Arles Avignon, formerly in Ligue 1 in 2010-11) says it is « serene », and one of its members affirms « that there was no contact between the two clubs in the days preceding the game ». Moreover, several educators were in the stands of the stadium, and according to them, no arrangement took place. They simply saw a « completely demobilized team ». The officials did not write a report at the end of the meeting, nothing seemed problematic to them.
An Arles official: « Why would we have done that? »
To explain this crazy result, the Arles club puts forward several reasons:
– For a match played at 3 p.m., the Septèmes team arrived at 2:30 p.m. and warmed up for barely 10 minutes.
– Septèmes lined up a more than bis team, with a 50-year-old reserve coach forced to play on the pitch and no seasoned goalkeeper, who didn’t even have gloves.
– The team from the suburbs of Marseille had already dropped out of the championship, as they had already been relegated to the district.
« Scoring 22 goals, if it’s arranged, it shows, it becomes laughable … Why would we have done that? », Defends an Arles manager, contacted by RMC Sport. Whose team was beaten 4-1 at Septèmes in the first leg. « It’s very complicated to go play there, it’s hot, tense. Our players were scared, » he continues about the first round.
« Absolutely nothing was prepared. You would have to be stupid to make these kinds of mistakes », Salah Nasri, president of Septèmes
In its quest to climb to Regional 1, the Arles team, which was already leading 8-1 at half-time and continued to play to the maximum, had to win this match by the widest possible gap. Since its competitor in the climb, Martigues, will play a team from Olympique Novais on the last good last day and whose goal difference is… -95.
The president of Septèmes: « And again, we should have taken 30 goals »
« The club is completely demobilized. (…) We went there with the reserve, with a 50-year-old coach in the field. We didn’t even have the veteran level. And still, we should have taken 30 goals, assured Salah Nasri, president of Septèmes, this Monday at L’Equipe. Absolutely nothing was prepared. You would have to be stupid to make these kinds of mistakes. I leave myself the right to attack anyone who dares to say that it was arranged. «
And Nasri to continue on the alarming situation of his club: « In the previous match, two of our players fought each other and were sent off. There is a general collapse. I even wonder if there we must not stop the seniors and focus on the young people. The question of the future of the club arises. »
On Monday, RMC Sport contacted Didier Dulcamara, president of Olympique Barbentanais, a small Vaucluse club 6th in this Pool C of Regional 2 and opponent of the two clubs earlier in the season. According to him, the Arles club « is held by serious people, who had no a priori interest in buying this kind of match ».
In Martigues, we are eagerly awaiting the result of the investigation
« Even if in our divisions, it often happens that we are approached for this kind of thing, but we will never do it for our part! », Poses Dulcamara, harder concerning the club of Septèmes which is « in another world « . « It’s a complicated club, we had problems there… And given the mentality, given that they’re going downhill next season, I’m not surprised to see them let go. »
Joined in the evening, the president of the Martigues club Alain Nersessian is impatiently awaiting the result of the investigation carried out by the Mediterranean League in the face of « a rare and simply incredible score ». « There is no question of having suspicions or doubts. But the championship will be played on goal average and we had our destiny in hand. I am therefore surprised at the score of the match, he admits. A difference of 21 goals at this level, it is rare and quite simply incredible. It is a real subject posed to the League, which seems to seize it elsewhere.
« I readily believe in the fact that Septèmes was demobilized, that there weren’t all the players… but I want to believe in sporting fairness. Septèmes wanted to play so as not to forfeit, out of a question of dignity. But is it more worthy to take 22 than to forfeit?, asks Nersessian Today, FC Martigues is in difficulty and I want there to be no doubt around the match, so as not to have of regrets. And I want to know quickly. »