Stade Brestois will hold a tribute to their late coach Eric Roy during their Ligue 1 home match against Paris Saint-Germain on 13 September, rather than at their season opener against Toulouse FC, the club announced on 31 July.
Roy died from pancreatic cancer on 17 June at the age of 58, while still serving as Brest head coach. The club had wanted to mark his memory at the first opportunity in front of their home supporters.
Pre-season friendlies were ruled out because they would not bring the full Brest public together in the desired conditions, so the opening Ligue 1 home fixture on 29 August against Toulouse FC, now managed by Jens Berthel Askou, was initially considered.
Stand closure forces change of plan
That plan was blocked by a sanction handed down by the Ligue de football professionnel. During the final matchday of the 2025-2026 season, Brest ultras set off flares, leading the LFP to order the closure of the Quimper stand for the club’s next home game.
In a statement, Brest said they wanted the tribute to reflect the mark Roy had left on the club’s history, and that required the entire Francis-Le Blee stadium to be open to supporters.
The club said it was convinced that the PSG fixture on 13 September at 20:45 would allow the whole Brest family to come together to honour Roy’s memory and pay tribute to the man they called the King. The match against Toulouse will go ahead without a formal ceremony.
Before joining Brest, Roy had played for Nice, Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille.
