Humiliation on the pitch, radical sanction… after a 20-0 defeat, an R1 club fires all its players

After a 20-0 defeat, FC Hégenheim (Haut-Rhin) dismisses its entire team MAXPPP

After a 20-0 defeat against the AS Nancy reserve team, the Hégenheim club (Regional 1) took the radical decision to part ways with all its first team players, a measure announced by president Jessica Roussel in a press release on Facebook on January 29.

It is a rare scene in the world of amateur football. On Sunday, January 26, FC Hégenheim (Haut-Rhin) suffered a historic rout, losing 20-0 to the AS Nancy reserve team. A humiliation that led the club to take an unprecedented measure: dismissing all the players from its first team.

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Jessica Roussel, president of the club, announced this radical decision in a press release published on Facebook on January 29. “Since the beginning of the season, the majority of players have not respected the values ​​of the club or the efforts of the volunteers present every weekend”, she explains.

A Nightmarish Season That Seals the Team's Fate

It was not only this defeat that pushed the management to act. FC Hégenheim was already going through a catastrophic season: in thirteen matches, the team had twelve defeats, one draw and one forfeit. As the bottom of the championship, the club found itself in a dead end.

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For the president, the change of staff during the break only confirmed “the lack of involvement of the group”. The club's management therefore made a final choice, well aware of the shock that this would cause. “It was not an easy decision, but it was necessary”, says a member of the board of directors on condition of anonymity.

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A new start for the club with young people

To complete the season, FC Hégenheim must now rely on its reserve team, which plays in Division 3, the lowest level of the departmental championship. A huge challenge for these young players, but also an unexpected opportunity. “These are young people that we trained here, at the club, and today, they have the opportunity to show their worth in R1. It's a big challenge, but they are ready”, confided Cédric Girard, head of the club's youth team, to BFM Alsace.

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Despite difficult conditions, the new team has already played its first match and has shown encouraging signs. On Sunday, February 2, they lost 3-1 to Champigneulles, second from last in the group. A defeat, certainly, but much less humiliating than the setback suffered by their predecessors. “We knew it would be tough, but we saw players who were involved, who fought for the club. That's all we ask for”, says a supporter present at the match. It remains to be seen whether this radical clean-up will allow the club to find a second wind.