Sète Olympique FC sanctioned for communitarianism: the prefect's order examined by the courts this Thursday

Le club et la préfecture avaient rendez-vous devant le tribunal, ce jeudi. MIDI LIBRE – NICOLAS ZARROUK

À la demande du petit club de foot sétois, le tribunal de Montpellier examinait ce jeudi 16 mai l’arrêté préfectoral de retrait de l’agrément associatif, pour des manquements administratifs et des suspicions de communautarisme.

After having presented their arguments through the press, the prefecture of Hérault and Sète Olympique FC presented them this Thursday, May 16 in the morning before the administrative court of Montpellier.

"The motivations for this decree are unfounded"

Last February, the Sète club had its associative approval withdrawn by prefectural decree following an inspection carried out by State services seven months earlier . Inspection which led to the drafting of a report pointing out breaches of administrative obligations but also behavior described by the prefect of Hérault as "separatists" and "community". In this case, a vagueness on the keeping of accounts and compulsory meetings, the presence of a prayer mat in the club premises or the refusal to create a women's section expressed by the president during the inspection.

"We consider that the motivations for this decree are unfounded, that it has made it impossible for the club to continue its sporting season and that the only The interest of the prefect is to give himself political credit", indicated the club’s lawyer, Me Guez Guez, this Thursday morning, recognizing management errors but no desire for proselytism or exclusion. Same speech for the president of Sète Olympique FC, Christian Di Méglio.

A note from the intelligence services

In front of him, the prefect François-Xavier Lauch had himself made the trip to defend the legitimacy of his decree. "I don't play politics, I apply the law. And I want to send a strong signal to those who do not respect the rules of the Republic." The representative of the State notably gave the court a "note blanche" intelligence services, to which we did not have access, indicating that it demonstrated the links of certain players in the club with the Salafist movement.

Club supporters present in the room

After more than an hour of discussions, attended by around fifteen players and supporters of Sète Olympique FC, the president decided to close the instruction phase. The decision to maintain, or cancel, the prefectural decree should be known in the afternoon.