Le Havre Sack Didier Digard After PSG Thrashing, Club President Also Resigns
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- Le Havre AC menangguhkan pelatih Didier Digard sebagai langkah kehati-hatian setelah kekalahan 1-5 dari PSG, dan menunjuk Jaïr Karam sebagai pelatih sementara.
- Presiden klub Jean-Michel Roussier mengundurkan diri; Yacine Alaoui, direktur pelaksana, kini mengendalikan urusan administratif dan olahraga.
- Klub sedang dalam masa transisi besar dengan pemilik Blue Crow Sports Group mencari CEO baru, sementara posisi di dasar klasemen Ligue 1 menambah tekanan.
Le Havre AC officially suspended head coach Didier Digard on Saturday (11/2/2026), just hours after his team was demolished 1-5 by Paris Saint-Germain on matchday 9 of Ligue 1. The move was taken as a precautionary measure, according to a club statement, and signals the start of a larger storm of change at the Normandy club.
Digard's position had in fact been hanging by a thread before the heavy defeat. Le Havre currently sit bottom of the table with two points from nine matches—their worst record since the club returned to the top flight. Management chose to act quickly rather than wait for the international break, even though statistically Digard was not without achievement: in the previous two seasons he had kept the club from relegation.
As interim replacement, Le Havre appointed Jaïr Karam, who currently serves as academy director. Karam will lead first-team training sessions starting next Monday. The appointment marks a shift in direction: from an experienced senior-level coach to an internal figure closer to youth player development.
The decision to remove Digard cannot be separated from mounting pressure from the club's owner, Blue Crow Sports Group. On the same day, the group announced the resignation of president Jean-Michel Roussier, who had led since June 2022. The leadership vacuum is being filled on an interim basis by Yacine Alaoui, managing director, who now oversees all administrative and sporting activities. The club stated that a definitive Chairman and CEO will be announced shortly.
For Le Havre, changes in both the coaching seat and the presidential seat in a single day represent a rare double shock. In several cases in Ligue 1, a coaching change early in the season has often been a turning point, but when it coincides with a change in top leadership, short-term stability can become even more fragile. Observers see the move as an effort by the owner to completely overhaul the club's structure before the winter transfer window, although there has been no official statement regarding a permanent replacement target.
"This suspension is purely a precautionary measure, and we will soon announce the new coaching direction," read the club's official statement as quoted from the Ligue 1 website.
On the other hand, the decision on Digard has drawn mixed reactions. Some supporters believe the man who is a product of Le Havre's academy deserves more time, given that he kept the club in Ligue 1 for two consecutive seasons. However, the string of poor results early this season—including the heavy defeat to PSG—left management with few options. Karam, now entrusted as interim coach, is expected to lift the team's spirit with a fresher approach from the academy.
Going forward, Le Havre will face a packed schedule under high psychological pressure. The next match will be Karam's first test as well as a barometer of whether changes at the management level can halt the team's negative run. If results do not improve soon, it is not impossible that the club will overhaul again, including seeking an experienced coach available on the market. Meanwhile, fans await the new CEO, who is expected to bring a long-term vision to this faltering club.
