Evian, Lille downplay importance of Ligue 1 clash after Paris shootings

Officials from Evian and Lille have brushed aside the importance of their Ligue 1 clash in the wake of the Paris shootings on Wednesday.

Lille won the clash 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from Adama Traore but it was clear that football was the furthest things from the two clubs’ minds after the match.

Twelve people died and a further five were left critically injured in the French capital during an attack on the headquarters of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Lille chairman Michel Seydoux said the decision not to postpone the match was a sign of society’s resilience.

“As a citizen, I was upset, but we had to play football,” he said.

“We are entertainers and life must go on, especially after such events, to show to the people who did that [shot dead 12 people in Paris], that we won’t stop.

“But I don’t want to speak about the game, or to talk about sport. There is a result, but it doesn’t count tonight.”

Evian manager Pascal Dupraz echoed Seydoux’s sentiments, admitting the events left him shocked and distressed.

“I just want to think about the people who lost their lives, for a cause which is beyond me,” Dupraz said.

“In the 21st century, receiving an alert on your phone telling you there’re 12 deaths because some crazies think they are defending a religion – it’s not life.

“Life is not death, especially in this way, so a football game only additional.”