Here are some of the key extracts of OGC Nice vice-president Maurice Cohen’s guest appearance on BFM Côte d'Azur’s ‘Kop Aiglons’ programme on Monday night.

on referees

“I don’t think that we were heard [regarding the club’s statement on 2nd March]. We can feel it. The lack of consistency was pointed out during those matchdays [Matchday 20 to Matchday 24]. After that, there was still quite a bit of discussion about refereeing. We complained, spoke to the referees at the highest level and tried to get it recognised. So, people say that it’s just one man, but it isn’t. Today, with the VARs, there are four referees. There’s a whole fleet of them. What’s a shame is that there’s no consistency between the referees, and that’s what we can criticise them for. We can criticise the referees for not being consistent in how they referee.”

Regarding Morgan Sanson’s handball against Paris: “I think it was very harsh because the ball wasn’t heading towards goal. He made an involuntary gesture, and the ball wasn’t deflected. In my opinion, there was no need to give a penalty.

“Even back in the day, we had quite a few issues with referees. They need to be better-trained and able to talk to clubs’ senior staff. We need to be able to communicate when something goes wrong.”

ON MAKING EVERYONE AWARE OF THE SITUATION

Regarding the meeting before the game away to Angers: “We wanted the players and everyone else at the club to be aware of the situation. Right now, we’ve got a tough schedule, but we’ve always been better against the big teams than against the little teams, and I hope that that continues. We’re also getting back players who were absent; Elye Wahi, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, Moïse Bombito and Mohamed Abdelmonem aren’t far away. That will do us good in those difficult games because we’ll be travelling to face several top-quality sides.”

ON THE TOGETHERNESS BEHIND THE CLUB

“Everyone is motivated. Everyone is pulling in the same direction. We have a good coaching staff, with Claude Puel making the players realise they need to give their all. I think it’s going to be tough. We said as much when we took over the club with Jean-Pierre Rivère. We said we’d lose matches, we’d win matches, but that we’d get through this together. We’ve used up all our chances, but now we have to go for it; I’m sure we’ll pull through. Everyone needs to be behind the club – the supporters, the players – united as one.

“What we’re looking for today is that united front. It reminds me of when we took over the club in 2002; everyone thought the club was finished, everyone was in tears, and when we emerged from the relegation battle and the club was safe, there was a real buzz. That’s what we want today: for there to be a real buzz around OGC Nice.

“In the match against Paris, we saw the stadium was full; I’d like the stadium to be full for Le Havre too, for people to come and support the club – we need that.”

ON Kaïl Boudache

“He’s a good kid, a player who’s brought his energy to the team. The coach says he’s a bit unpredictable in the way he plays. We needed that. We’re hoping to finalise his first professional contract and that he’ll be part of next year’s squad.”

Are you having a few difficulties in getting him to sign? “That’s the agents talking, not the club. It’s their strategy to try and drive up the price, to talk publicly. We don’t comment on that. When you’re signing a contract, there are offers and counteroffers. There’s a negotiation. So far, we’ve always found the right way to get what we want. We’ve made him a very attractive offer. I think we’ll get there. You shouldn’t listen to the entourage, the agents who are always there to stir things up, to create competition… I’ve been told he’s been offered a move to such-and-such a place, and so on… That’s all part of the negotiations between agents and clubs. For now, we’re having good discussions. We really like this player. He came through the club’s youth system. We’ll do everything we can to keep him with us.”

ON THE COUPE Gambardella

“So far, it’s been a perfect run. We knocked out Marseille. We knocked out Monaco. They’re top-class teams. Then came Guingamp, with a convincing 4-0 win. Now we’re set to face Montpellier on Sunday at 16:00 CET. The fans will be right behind the team (all tickets sold out within a few hours, ed.). This is the future of the club.”

ON Wahi

“He’s a lovely person. We’ve given him and his family a very warm welcome. They felt right at home at the club straight away. They told us they’d found a bit of the atmosphere they’d known in Montpellier – that of a family-run club. They’re happy to be here.”

Just for six months? “You never know what might happen.”

ON RUMOURS CONCERNING THE SPORTING directoR

“You’ll have to ask the journalists that wrote them, as they’re apparently better informed than we are. I’m joking. I can dispel the rumours. Nothing has been finalised, neither concerning Florian Maurice’s departure nor the arrival of anyone else. This is all just speculation, just like with the manager. I saw today (yesterday) that the Angers manager was being courted by Nice. It’s all part of the agents’ game, where they enjoy driving up the value of their clients. It’s all a game for the agents. I can tell you that our only concern today is staying up. Jean-Pierre Rivère and I came to help the club and we’ve set ourselves a mission until the end of the season, along with Claude Puel too: save the club. Then we’ll see what happens next.

“We’ll certainly let you know exactly where we stand at the end of the season. By the end of May, as soon as we’ve got our heads above water, we’ll be able to work on the future. Right now, everyone is focused on the end of the season – whether it’s Florian Maurice, the manager or the rest of the club’s employees, everyone is focused on that; we’re not thinking about anything else.

“I didn’t know Florian before. I’ve been working with him since I arrived. I can tell you he’s a great guy; he’s got a good attitude and he’s doing a brilliant job. You don’t always enjoy success at everything, you know. I remember, with my friend Roger Ricort, we were always held up as an example in the case of Matt Moussilou; that’s just how it is. It’s all part of the game; you don’t win all the time, you don’t get it right all the time. But there have been successes too.”

ON THE coupe de France

The Coupe de France will be a different challenge. The approach is different. In a one-off match, anything is possible. Is there a priority between Saturday’s Ligue 1 match or the Cup semi-final? Saturday’s match. The Coupe de France is the icing on the cake. Jean-Pierre and I were just saying that he’d been in the final once, and we’d also been in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, but neither of us won. We said that, of course, we’d really like to win the cup. It would be a great story, but the most important thing right now is Saturday’s match. And we’re still thinking about the cup, and the players are too – in the back of our minds. It’ll be a one-off match, and anything can happen in a knockout game.

We’ve had a bit of luck on this cup run. That’s part of football and you always need a bit of luck. But for me, staying up is the most important thing

ON INEOS

Receiving €7 million from the TV rights deal as opposed to €30M in recent years? “If we didn’t have a very strong owner, I can guarantee the club would not exist today.”

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