Saint-Etienne legend Ruffier SACKED after refusing to be No 2 keeper
Saint-Etienne club legend Stephane Ruffier is SACKED after refusing to be back-up goalkeeper with club’s board bemoaning ‘unavoidable decision’ after he was banned from training
- Saint-Etienne have made the decision to sack their goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier
- He refused to be back-up goalkeeper and was banned from the training ground
- Amid legal battle between his agent and the club, French side have sacked him
- At the start of the season, Claude Puel confirmed Ruffier didn’t want to be No 2
Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne have sacked 34-year-old club legend Stephane Ruffier after he refused to be the team’s back-up goalkeeper.
The incredible turn of events comes after months of legal battling between the player’s agent and the club, with manager Claude Puel – formerly of Leicester – also keen to see the back of the player.
Ruffier is the goalkeeper with the most appearances in the history of the club, but had fallen down the pecking order and behind Jessy Moulin, a situation it appears he did not take kindly to.
Stephane Ruffier (pictured) has been sacked by Saint-Etienne after refusing to be a back-up
Claude Puel revealed at the start of the season that Ruffier had turned down the role as No 2
After the disciplinary proceedings against the player, AS Saint-Etienne decided to terminate Stephane Ruffier’s contract, which ended on June 30, 2021.
Stephane Ruffier is therefore free from any commitment.
ASSE regrets having come to this decision, made ineluctable by the attitude of the player who undermined the institution.
The news of his sacking broke on Monday, with a club statement reading: ‘After the disciplinary proceedings against the player, AS Saint-Etienne decided to terminate Stephane Ruffier’s contract, which ended on June 30, 2021.
‘Stephane Ruffier is therefore free from any commitment. ASSE regrets having come to this decision, made unavoidable by the attitude of the player who undermined the institution.’
It has been reported previously by GFFN that the French goalkeeper had repeatedly turned up late to training, which led to him eventually being banned from the club’s training facilities in the summer.
Ruffier had been ousted from the first-team squad at the start of the season, with boss Puel confirming that he had refused to play second fiddle to his team-mate.
In an interview with Canal Plus, Puel said: ‘I have informed the two players. The one (Jessy Moulin), that he was going to be starting the season, the other (Stephane Ruffier) that he was going to be the second choice. And the second confirmed to me that he would never stand to be second fiddle to Jessy Moulin. That is why we have constructed a trio in which Stephane is not included.’
Ruffier arrived from Monaco in 2011, going on to play 383 times for Les Verts – but his time at the club has now ended in embarrassing fashion.
Ruffier (right) lets in a shot from PSG’s Angel Di Maria during one of his 383 games for the club
Jessy Moulin (right) is Saint-Etienne’s regular goalkeeper, but Ruffier wasn’t happy about it
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