In Saint-Jean-de-Védas, quarrel over football clubs: the town hall prohibits access to the stadium to Olympique Védasien

Sans accès au stade, l’Olympique védasien risque de disparaître. Midi Libre – Y.L

Created in the summer of 2023, the Olympique Védasien football club could already cease to exist. The cause is “repeated dysfunctions” according to the city's mayor François Rio, who has banned club members from accessing the Etienne Vidal stadium as of September 1.

The football saga in Saint-Jean-de-Védas is not new. Already last season, when Olympique Védasien was created, tensions arose between this new club and Racing Club Védasien (RCV), the town's historic club, as well as with the town hall. After much discussion, the municipality finally granted this new association slots to use the Étienne Vidal complex and the facilities of the rue des Prés stadium.

More than tense relations 

However, the cohabitation between the two clubs throughout the season proved difficult from the start. Guilhem Sutra, president of the RCV, summed up the situation as follows: “From the beginning, there were sporting dysfunctions in this club that had been set up from scratch. It seemed more like an ego story than a real educational and social sports project." he adds, “We did not speak to the Vedasian Olympian.“A tense situation with the city's historic club, to which must be added multiple reprimands from the town hall towards the newcomer, Olympique Vedasien. It was in this tense climate that the break-up was made official on August 2. François Rio, Mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Védas, informed the President of Olympique Védasien by registered letter “that due to repeated malfunctions, they would no longer be allowed to access the facilities at the Vidal complex or those on Rue des Prés as of September 1st.”

Grievances and reactions

François Rio, “disappointed and angry”, explains: “This association has illegally occupied the facilities on numerous occasions outside of the slots allocated to it. In addition, they have welcomed many children who were not licensed in Saint-Jean-de-Védas onto the grounds. Finally, their presence outside of these slots has often generated noise and nuisances, provoking numerous complaints from local residents." And to conclude : "All these facts, in violation of the signed agreement, have been reported to them on several occasions, without effect. That's why I made this decision.“

For its part, Olympique Vedasien, through its president Stéphane Drif, refutes the accusations of having let unlicensed youngsters play, without insurance, outside the scheduled slots. He believes that “the mayor is in denial” and affirms that “all players are licensed before starting training” and finally that no Vedasian was refused. 

And the children in all this ?

The creation of Olympique Vedasien last season was aimed in particular at compensating for the elitism practiced at RCV, which refused certain young people due to lack of level. The mayor himself deplored this situation: “I don't want this club to be the best in the region. I simply want our children to be able to play football and not hang around in the street! A kid of 13, 14 or 15, we can't throw him out. This is unacceptable.“

François Rio is confident about the issue of elitism at the RCV in the event of the disappearance of Olympique Védasien: “I contacted the president of the RCV (Guilhem Sutra), who promised to welcome all the children who register, even if it means having more teams.“
As the first matches approach, the future of The Vedasian Olympic remains uncertain, due to lack of stadium.

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