Are tensions between anti and pro-BlueCo Strasbourg supporters easing? | OneFootball

For the first 15 minutes of each RC Strasbourg Alsace game this season, the ultras have remained silent in protest at the BlueCo ownership. The UB90 have made it clear that they do not trust or believe in the multi-club model that links them to BlueCo’s other club, Chelsea.

The Ultras warn over a loss of identity and question the financial security of the club under a model which has become, in their words, “dangerously dependent on exceptional revenue such as player sales” and “holds up as long as BlueCo injects liquidity.” However, the fanbase is not in total unison with the ultras.

Success on the field has allowed for dissenting voices who have been swayed by a team that looks to be competing for a return to Europe (with their last foray being in 2019/20 when they failed to reach the Europa League group stages).

Tensions come to the fore in Strasbourg

During the 0-0 with Stade Brestois on February the 23rd, tensions between the two opposing factions came to the fore with the pro-BlueCo supporters creating an alternate ‘capo’ that led chants while the anti-BlueCo ultras stayed silent for the start of the match. After the 15 minutes were up, the ultras were vociferously booed by the pro-supporters.

L’Équipe writes that this could have been a cathartic moment for the club as there have been small signs that the divide between the two groups is lessening. The French outlet reports that tensions were not so apparent in the 2-1 victory over Toulouse FC on the 16th of March, even if insults were still exchanged when the ultras began chanting. By the final whistle, the Stade de la Meinau was united in celebration.

Since this match, the anti-BlueCo’s weekly communiques have been less critical of their opposition, even if their criticism of the ownership structure remains unchanged. Still, it’s clear there is a long way to go before the Strasbourg fanbase is unified once again, but L’Équipe posits that there is the possibility that European qualification and the UB40’s 35th anniversary next season could, at the very least, end the strike.

GFFN | Nick Hartland