Statement by Himed Hamma (coach of FC 93)
“Contrary to what has been written in the press, my spat with their general manager and the gatherings between players are two totally different things. Concerning myself, I had a tense verbal exchange with their general manager who was on the bench to whom I had not asked anything. He cursed at me because he wanted me to “shut up” and go to my locker room so as not to influence the referee. He accuses me of something afterwards whereas the match delegate in his report says that he was close to both of us and that he did not hear any such thing. The referee said that we were separated by our two staffs, but that he didn’t hear anything like that either …
On the video images we see my exchange with him which lasts between 3 and 4 seconds, then that he creates a crowd with one of my players. So, we see me afterwards asking my players who surrounded the referee to come in, I turn around to go again to separate my players and theirs so that everyone returns to the locker room. This is where a relative of number 13 from Haguenau enters the field and the scuffle starts again, there was a scuffle between players and we had to separate everyone. It’s been three years that I am at FC 93 I have never had a problem with any colleague or with the referees, I live my matches, I can contest a decision, I can be right or be wrong as long as it is in respect for referees.
What I regret is having answered this gentleman who insulted me, when the situation did not concern him. Unfortunately, I did not have this good reflex at that time. (…) They took medical certificates on Monday while the match was played on Saturday, players who issued certificates for scratches on the back … There is no itt (ITT: incapacity temporary work, Editor’s note) for a player who says he has a burst eardrum? Except the emergency doctor does not put anything. Moreover, the same player played yesterday … There were tensions only through the fault of those close to their number 13 and their general manager. As stated in the report, their chairman in the presence of the delegate and our administrative manager said that if his assistant coach had not provoked our coach the match would have gone normally. I now leave it to the president and his team to do what is necessary, we are very welcoming to us and I challenge any ill-intentioned to find a single report from a referee, delegate or an opposing club outside that of Haguenau. . We will not fall into victimization and we will continue to build this club for which the president and his team have invested a lot. “
Interview by Reynald Trunsard
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