Estac on the brink of relegation after the excesses and the end of the match against Valenciennes

The Ligue 2 football match between Estac de Troyes (Aube) and Valenciennes FC (Nord) was interrupted a few minutes from the end on Friday 3 May 2024 after smoke bombs were fired on the pitch. The club is very close to relegation to the National.

With the score at one goal and only a few minutes left to play, the match between Troyes and Valenciennes, which counts for the 36th day of Ligue 2, was abandoned on Friday 3 May 2024.

The referee, Olivier Thual, made this decision after smoke bombs were thrown onto the pitch. He had already interrupted the meeting for fifteen minutes the first time after a first series of smoke bombs.

Disappointed by the attitude of their supporters, some Troyes players threw some smoke bombs back into the stand they had started from. In a press release published after these eventsEstac “condemn the actions of a minority of supporters”. “The context of fan disappointment does not excuse or mitigate this behavior and we now await decisions from the football authorities.”

We contacted the club this Saturday 4 May, the day after the events, they do not wish to communicate further. The mayor of Les Républicains de Troyes, François Baroin, indicated this Saturday at the end of the morning that “Last night’s excesses must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

“Despite the challenging sports season that Estac has gone through, there were families and children in the stadium last night, who simply came to see a football match. We will take stock of the club, in cooperation with the state services guarantee the conditions for full and complete security so that such incidents do not happen again”, adds the chosen one.

As a supporter, I repeat my great sadness at seeing the club go down to National. We must rebuild.

François Baroin, LR mayor of Troyes

Ligue 2 will go from 20 to 18 teams next season, there will be four direct relegations to the National after the final day of the championship. In the event of a defeat on the green runner, Estac would be condemned to relegation to the National two days after the end.

It would be a huge blow for the club owned by City Football Group. For example, City Group, which also owns the Manchester City club, bought Estac in 2020, when the club was in the second division. Estac was crowned French Ligue 2 champion in 2021, returning to the elite for the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 seasons, before returning to Ligue 2 this season.