Corse Matin are reporting that SC Bastia have made the controversial decision to make the 15-minute flight to face Corsican rivals AC Ajaccio on Monday, rather than make the journey by bus, which would have taken just two hours.
Ecology and environmentalism have become increasingly prevalent in discussions about how football teams travel to and from matches, especially in France. Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier came in for considerable criticism last season when he joked that the team would take a sand yacht, rather than a private jet to their away matches. It came in the wake of PSG’s decision to take a jet, rather than a two-hour train, to face FC Nantes.
Bastia are now coming in for criticism over their mode of transport. The Ligue 2 have already travelled to Corsican rivals Ajaccio ahead of Monday night’s match. Instead of taking the bus, which would take just two hours, Bastia have hired a private jet from Nice, to allow them to then make the 15-minute flight to Ajaccio. As well as the environmental cost of the decision, the economic cost has also been called into question. Bastia have one of the lowest budgets in Ligue 2, and this journey alone will cost them €15,000.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
