11/03/2026 10:28:00
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11/03 10:24 CST Le Havre fans call for American owners to leave after coach's
suspension and president's exit
Le Havre fans call for American owners to leave after coach's suspension and
president's exit
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
AP Sports Writer
With their club in turmoil, Le Havre fan groups are calling for the American
owners to leave.
Le Havre, founded in 1872 and considered the oldest club in French professional
soccer, has plunged into a deep and unprecedented sporting crisis.
Languishing at the bottom of Ligue 1, and with relegation looming, the club
started the week without a coach and a president.
Following a heavy 5-1 loss against leader Paris Saint-Germain over the weekend,
Le Havre announced head coach Didier Digard had been suspended, and that the
board members of owner Blue Crow Sports Group had accepted the resignation of
president Jean-Michel Roussier.
Roussier's resignation will be formally presented and ratified on Thursday, Le
Havre said.
He's led the Normandy club since 2022 while Digard was appointed in the summer
of 2024.
The exodus does not end there because French media have reported that sports
director Demba Ba and goalkeeping coach Nicolas Douchez are also on their way
out.
Blue Crow acquired Le Havre in July 2025, adding it to a portfolio of soccer
clubs.
"In the space of just a few days, every individual who embodied this club, who
helped bring it back to Ligue 1 (in 2023) and keep it there, has disappeared
from its organizational structure," three supporters groups said in a joint
statement.
Le Havre has two points from nine matches and the fans blame the multi-club
group based in Houston for the worrying situation.
"Blue Crow represents nothing in Le Havre," they said. "Blue Crow Sports Group
has dismantled (Le Havre) and demonstrates more clearly with each passing day
its complete lack of understanding of how to run a football club, its history
and its identity. The catastrophe that now looms is entirely their
responsibility."
Le Havre's next game is against Lorient on Sunday.
"With this crucial match against Lorient approaching, the united front
established between the players, the manager and the Kop (of supporters)
following the match against PSG has been shattered," the fan groups said.
A former Le Havre player, Digard managed to keep the team in the topflight over
the past two seasons. He leaves the club with a record of 17 wins, 20 draws and
40 losses, according to Ligue 1 statistics.
The club has appointed Jar Karam, the academy director, as interim coach and
said Yacine Alaoui would oversee administrative and sporting activities until a
new chairman and CEO are appointed.
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