The match of the 12th day of Ligue 1 between Nîmes and Rennes, scheduled at 8 p.m. Saturday evening, has been postponed to a later date due to bad weather. “We did various tests around the field with my colleagues, the ball rebound was not possible and the safety of the players – which is a priority – could not be guaranteed”, justified the referee, Willy Delajod, accompanied by the delegate of the meeting in the press conference room.
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The rain continued to intensify in the hour before kick-off, transforming the warm-up of the two teams during aquagym. Club workers were busy trying to drain the water, but the lawn was so full that puddles were raised with each press. It was 7:58 p.m. when the Costières announcer announced to supporters that the match would not be played on Saturday. The players from Nîmes and Rennes had already greeted and applauded them before taking refuge in the locker room.
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It is not known at what date the meeting can be played. One thing is certain, it will not be this Sunday, the weather forecast for rain until 11 am. “It would have been damaging for us to stay until noon tomorrow to finally realize that the ground was impassable, reacted the coach of the Reds and Blacks, Julien Stéphan. It was the wisest decision possible, the conditions were far too dangerous, the physical integrity of the players was called into question. “
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The calendar of Rennes – engaged in the Europa League, they will go to Cluj Thursday (6:55 pm) – being very busy, the two teams may not meet until 2020. “At the end of the international truce (no matches on the weekend of November 16 and 17, note), we will play every three days until Christmas, continued Stéphan. We will adapt and reorganize our work week compared to what we had planned. We are going back to Rennes this evening (Saturday) and training from (Sunday) morning. I understand that the referee wanted to wait until the end of the warm-up to see if the rain stopped. ”
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