Tag: Nice

Nice ‘relieved everything ended well’ after player reportedly threatens suicide

The Ligue 1 club said that the player “had been taken care of”

OGC Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivère has said the club is “relieved” after a reported suicide threat from a player ended with him safe.

Multiple reports said that Nice midfielder Alexis Beka Beka sat on the edge of a bridge on Friday morning, with authorities attempting to talk him down for several hours.

Nice cancelled all of its media activities scheduled for Friday ahead of Sunday’s Ligue 1 match against Brest.

In a club statement, Rivère said: “We are above all relieved that everything has turned out well for Alexis today. He has been taken care of.

“We will continue to respect medical confidentiality and we ask everyone to do the same and respect his right to privacy. We are here to help him, as is everyone at the club.”

Beka Beka, 22, joined Nice last summer in a transfer from Lokomotiv Moscow. He made 14 Ligue 1 appearances last season and has yet to appear in a league game this term.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a trained listener, call 988. Visit 988lifeline.org for crisis chat services or for more information.

Let’s all marvel at this nine-second red card in Ligue 1

We’re not even mad, that’s amazing!

Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo will certainly have better career accomplishments, but he may never have a more unlikely one than Sunday’s incredible nine-second red card.

It is nearly impossible to even fathom how a player could be sent off after nine seconds. Punch a player in the face straight after kickoff? Go two-footed into the first challenge you see?

Todibo did neither of those things in Sunday’s game against Angers. Instead, Angers striker Abdallah Sima found himself in a near-breakaway situation straight off the kickoff. Todibo clumsily brought him down, which prompted the referee to produce a straight red for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

It almost goes without saying, but Todibo’s red was the fastest in Ligue 1 since at least 2006-07, when Opta began tracking that data.

Nice would go on to lose the match 1-0, which finished with 10 players on each side after Sofiane Boufal was also sent off for Angers midway through the second half.

Watch Todibo’s nine-second red card

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Arsenal’s club-record £72m signing Nicolas Pépé joins Nice on loan

The winger failed to live up to massive expectations in north London

Nice has confirmed that Nicolas Pépé has joined the club on a season-long loan from Arsenal.

The deal will not include a purchase option.

Pépé joined Arsenal from Lille in a £72 million move in 2019, which still makes him the club’s most expensive signing.

But the winger has so far failed to live up to the massive expectations during his time in north London.

The 27-year-old has scored 27 goals in 112 appearances for the Gunners over three seasons. That return isn’t altogether terrible but when considering the huge fee the Gunners paid, plus the fact he had 22 goals in his final season with Lille alone, it’s clear that Arsenal would have expected more.

Nice will hope that a return to France will reinvigorate Pépé, with the club sitting on just two points through its first three Ligue 1 games.

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Fanáticos del St. Etienne invaden la cancha, atacan a los jugadores con bengalas después del descenso

Los aficionados del Saint Etienne invadieron la cancha inmediatamente después de que su equipo fue relegado el domingo, algunos aficionados atacaron a los jugadores en escenas espantosas en el Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. El Auxerre derrotó al Saint …

Los aficionados del Saint Etienne invadieron la cancha inmediatamente después de que su equipo fue relegado el domingo, algunos aficionados atacaron a los jugadores en escenas espantosas en el Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

El Auxerre derrotó al Saint Etienne en penales en el juego por el descenso, con Les Verts listos para jugar en la Ligue 2 por primera vez en 18 años.

Inmediatamente después de que penal del triunfo del Auxerre dio en la red, una turba de fanáticos invadió el campo con algunos de ellos dirigiéndose hacia los jugadores y lanzándoles bengalas.

Los jugadores fueron evacuados inmediatamente mientras el cielo se llenaba de bengalas, con la policía anti- motines siendo despachada para intentar controlar la situación.

Traducción.- ¡TERRIBLES ESCENAS Y CAOS TOTAL! El Saint Etienne fue relegado de la #Ligue2, y los aficionados entraron al campo después del último tiro penal para atacar y bombardear a los jugadores con bengalas. Los jugadores tuvieron que escapar a los vestidores y algunos resultaron lesionados.

En un comunicado en su página web, el Saint Etienne dijo que “condena enérgicamente estos actos, apoya totalmente a aquellos afectados e iniciará los trámites legales necesarios.”

Una temporada de violencia de los fanáticos en Francia

La temporada 2021-22 tuvo una serie de incidentes horribles en los estadios a través de Francia, con el Saint Etienne involucrado varias veces.

En dos ocasiones durante la temporada, incluyendo el partido final de la temporada regular, el club fue obligado a jugar a puerta cerrada debido al comportamiento de los fanáticos.

El partido al inicio de la temporada entre Nice y Marseille tuvo que ser abandonado después de que fanáticos del Nice invadieron el campo y lanzaron proyectiles. A Nice se la castigó con una deducción de dos puntos.

Otro partido del Marseille, éste en Lyon, tuvo que se cancelado cuando Dimitri Payet fue golpeado por una botella lanzado desde las gradas.

Después de una serie de invidentes, la ministra de deportes de Francia emitió una advertencia: “Todos tiene que entender que la sobrevivencia del futbol francés está en riesgo.”

Nantes and Nice condemn fans for ‘unthinkable’ Emiliano Sala chants

Nantes head coach Antoine Kombouare called for Nice fans who engaged in the chants to be banned

Nantes and Nice have both released statements condemning some appalling chants from Nice fans mocking the death of Emiliano Sala, the former Nantes star who passed away in a 2019 plane crash.

Early in Nice’s 4-2 win over Saint-Etienne Wednesday, a section of Nice supporters reportedly changed the words of a pro-Sala chant Nantes supporters use. Last week, Nice fell 1-0 to Nantes in the Coupe de France final.

Nice’s statement, released Thursday, read as follows:

OGC Nice condemns in the strongest possible sense the chant about Emiliano Sala heard on Wednesday evening at the Allianz Riviera.

The club does not recognise its values or those of the entire red and black family in this unthinkable and abject provocation by a minority of its supporters.

OGC Nice sends its support to the family and friends of Emiliano Sala.

Nantes’ statement struck a similar chord, including a nod towards Nice’s response as a club to the chants:

FC Nantes discovered with horror the tenor of the songs of certain supporters of OGC Nice and can only strongly condemn such actions degrading the memory of Emiliano Sala.

At the same time, FC Nantes would like to thank OGC Nice and its coach Christophe Galtier for their support and their firm condemnation of such remarks.

FC Nantes as a whole supports Emiliano’s family and loved ones.

Speaking after their 2-1 win over Rennes, Nantes head coach Antoine Kombouare called for the Nice fans responsible for the chants to be banned. “I am scandalized, these people have nothing to do in stadiums,” said Kombouare.

“They should be banned, it’s shameful, I feel sorry for the family. I knew that the supporters could be idiots, but these are donkeys.”

Nice vs. Marseille match was suspended after fans invaded the pitch and threw bottles in ugly incident

This was bad.

After a year of seeing matches played in empty or reduced-capacity stadiums, it should have been great to see fans back in the stands — particularly in parts of Europe that dealt with actual lockdowns. But with the return of fans, there’s also the return of ugly incidents involving fans.

Sunday’s French Ligue 1 match between Nice and Marseille was suspended after a disturbing scene broke out in the 75th minute. Marseille’s Dimitri Payet had plastic bottles thrown at him while taking corners at Allianz Riviera. At one point, Payet was struck in the face with a bottle, and he responded by throwing the bottle back into the stands.

That only led to more bottle throwing and a Malice-in-the-Palace-type scene as spectators stormed onto the field.

Security and the Nice players tried to keep fans from fully taking over the pitch, and for the most part, they were able to get the fans off the field quickly. And while no Marseille player entered the stands, one Marseille staffer did manage to get in a hard shove on a fan.

Marseille manager Jorge Sampaoli also needed to be physically restrained.

The match ended up getting stopped with Nice holding a 1-0 lead.