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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
Sport
Paul Myers

Paris FC and PSG head the same way in Coupe de France

The 20 clubs from Ligue 1 joined the Coupe de France in the 9th round - last 64. AFP/Archives

Identical scorelines and fortunes then for the clubs from the French capital in the last-64 of the Coupe de France.

The industrial football complex that sports the moniker Paris Saint-Germain won 3-1 at third tier Chateauroux.

Even without the holy troika of Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar at the Stade Gaston Petit, PSG had too much strength and cruised through to the last-32.

"The Coupe de France is an important trophy," said PSG boss Christophe Galtier.

"All the teams in France start out in it and as we are PSG we want to go all the way in it and lift the trophy at the end."

Doing so on 29 April would give PSG a record-extending 14th crown. It would also allow Galtier the chance to win the only domestic cup missing from his trophy cabinet.

Prizes

In 2013, he led Saint-Etienne to the Coupe de la Ligue. Eight years later, he steered Lille to the 2021 Ligue 1 crown and after his Nice side lost the 2022 Coupe de France final to Nantes, Galtier, who was installed as PSG boss soon after, won the 2022 Trophée des Champions - the French Super Cup - with his new charges.

"It was a shame not to win the Coupe de France with Nice," added the 56-year-old Frenchman.

"It is a trophy I'd like to win. I've won it as an assistant coach while I was at Sochaux and then Lyon.

"Sometimes you don't win because you've had bad luck. But it is simply a difficult cup to win."

Paris FC have not enjoyed a fraction of the success as their illustrious neighbours in the competition.

Their best run came in 1980 when they reached the last four.

They were up against fellow second division outfit Valenciennes at the Stade Charlety on Friday night. And they came from a goal down to advance 3-1.

Chance

Progress for the hosts was redemptive. At the same stage of the tournament in 2021, they were at the epicentre of everything ailing the game in France.

Pitted against Ligue 1 heavyweights Lyon on a chilly December night just before Christmas, Paris FC opened the scoring after seven minutes through Gaetan Laura. The Lyon skipper Moussa Dembélé equalised on the stroke of half-time with a sumptuous strike from just outside the penalty area.

With the match exquisitely poised, a feast of a second-half was beckoning.

But as the Lyon players were beginning to return to the field, they were ushered away by a phalanx of stewards as riot police moved into position to contain a faction of Lyon spectators who had escaped from their enclosure.

Home fans in adjacent stands fled onto the field to avoid several marauding hordes.

Once the away fans were back in their compound, they let off flares and continued to sing out abusive chants.

End

Around 50 minutes after the second-half should have started, the stadium announcer, flanked by the club president Pierre Ferracci, emerged to declare that the match had been cancelled.

“Please go home safely, thank you for coming out tonight,” added the announcer to the 17,000 fans.

The administrative chaos and ugly scenes came just a day after government ministers and organisers of the professional competitions in France laid down strict guidelines for referees and security chiefs to stop matches immediately if players or match officials are injured by missiles thrown from the stands.

That review was prompted by a match between Lyon and Marseille on 21 November 2021 when the Marseille skipper Dimitri Payet collapsed on the pitch after he was hit on the head by a full bottle of water thrown from the stands.

Difference

The game - only five minutes old - was halted and then called off nearly two hours later following occasionally acrimonious discussions between officials and players from both clubs.

Paris FC and Lyon were eventually thrown out of the 2021/2022 Coupe de France tournament.

Fourteen months on from the debacle at the Stade Charlety, only a tiny portion of the arena was full as the home team prevailed. The controversy this year? The state of the pitch.

"I'm not a groundsman," said the Paris FC boss Thierry Laurey. "But I'm almost ashamed to ask a professional team to play here."

Laurey and Paris FC executives can at least console themselves that a poor playing field will not lead to their expulsion.

Ties

Another 16 ties took place on Saturday and the final 11 matches will be played on Sunday afternoon and in the early evening.

The last-64 weekend culminates with an all Ligue 1 clash between Lille and Troyes at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

The competition offers up the only chance of silverware for either side though Troyes - only five points above the drop zone - may consider top flight survival much more prestigious.

"I think the cup is important," said Lille boss Paulo Fonseca. "As a coach I won it in Portugal and Ukraine.

"And now here in France, I want us to go as far as possible. I think it is important to pass that message on to the players."

And, in the light of Lyon and Paris FC's experience, to any fans thinking of staging a riot.

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