Paris Saint-Germain will have to do without its main ultra group for the Trophée des Champions. The Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) announced that it will not make the trip to Bollaert for the fixture against RC Lens on Sunday August 16.
A neutral ground that is anything but
The reason for this decision is clear: the choice of stadium and the allocation of seats. The CUP contests the fact that this match is being held at Bollaert, RC Lens's regular home ground. For Parisian supporters, a trophy presented as a neutral-ground encounter should not be played in the home of one of the two participants.
The group denounces a decision by the LFP that it considers incoherent, and criticises a ticket allocation it deems unbalanced. For the CUP, these conditions simply do not allow this match to be considered a genuine neutral-ground contest.
A context that reinforces the sense of injustice
This dispute comes in a particular context: Lens will be playing their first official fixture of the season in front of their own supporters, while PSG will have already played the UEFA Super Cup a few days earlier. This discrepancy reinforces the feeling, on the Parisian side, that an advantage has been granted to Lens in the organisation of the match.
The credibility of the Trophée des Champions in question
Beyond the boycott, it is the very credibility of the competition that is being called into question. If the Trophée des Champions is meant to pit the French champion against the Coupe de France winner under fair conditions, the question of the venue becomes central when the chosen stadium belongs to one of the two clubs involved.
PSG will therefore play this trophy without some of their most active supporters. The match will indeed take place at Bollaert, but the CUP's stance has already placed the LFP at the heart of the debate, even before kick-off.
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