Basketball – Caen BC. Franck Danet: “It seemed a little suicidal to me to play”

Through Aline Chatel
Published on 4 Nov 20 at 10:10

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While he was given the opportunity to continue in camera, the Caen Basket Calvados, like all the Men’s National 1, will not play for the duration of the lockdown. Explanations with the club president, Franck Danet.

What has been decided?

Meeting in federal office on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, the French Basketball Federation decided to suspend the National 1 men’s championship for the duration of the confinement. The (many) matches that were to be played in the meantime are postponed. Ten matches should have taken place before the announced end of confinement on December 2, 2020.

However, a break from competitions is not synonymous with stopping training. “There is not a total stop of the activity, specifies the president of Caen BC, Franck Danet. It is planned, at the discretion of each, to train and possibly activate state aid. Concretely, the clubs which will not train at 100% during this period will be able to claim partial unemployment for their players.

Why did you choose to postpone the matches?

Considered a professional championship, the Men’s National 1 could have continued to play behind closed doors. Unlike the women’s Ligue 2, she did not want it. The CBC was of the same opinion as “the vast majority of the leaders” in thinking that “it did not make sense to play during a period of confinement”. For Frank Danet, all the witnesses were in the red. “It seemed a little suicidal to me to play. ” And for good reason :

From a moral point of view, it didn’t seem right to me to play basketball when others couldn’t work. Then, the financial aspect is necessarily essential, like the logistics aspect. When you have to move to the other end of France and hotels and restaurants are closed, it’s not easy. Finally, there was the sporting aspect. We are going to be right in the height of the epidemic. Matches have reportedly continued to be postponed. This would have created inequity at the sporting level, in addition to a lack of visibility of the championship.

How will the championship resume?

If by a miracle the confinement were to really stop on December 2, the NM1 should catch up with a good part of the first leg matches. But the season is extremely dense since it includes three competitions in one until the playoffs. “Will the French Basketball Federation adopt a new formula? We don’t know, but it seems illusory to me to believe that we will do all the games as we had planned at the start. “

At least the FFBB is not taken by surprise, since “from the start of the season, it had given us scenarios on various hypotheses of degraded championships”, indicates Franck Danet. With absolute priority in mind.

In no case did they want to go towards a white season. There will be a championship which will have to adapt to the consequences of this health crisis.

With players under contract until June 30, the season may turn out to be longer than expected. The Caen should train in a reduced way to keep in shape and wait for the rest of the events in a calm manner.