Minority owner Alouettes step down

Stern owns 25% of the team he bought with father-in-law Sid Spiegel in January 2020.

Mr. Spiegel died in July 2020 while league activities were suspended due to COVID-19. He never saw his team play.

Today, Spiegel’s ownership holds 75% of the team.

In an open letter to the team’s fans, it appears that Gary Stern is reluctantly stepping down.

Today, I must share with you my new reality: I can no longer be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Montreal Alouettes. It was a difficult decision for my family and I, but one that is irreversible.

Stern suggests that Sid Spiegel’s estate does not have the same association with the Alouettes as the deceased.

As of now, decisions regarding the club’s finances and operations rest with Syed’s estate. [Spiegel]Stern continues in his letter. The close relationship we had, which included our love for the sport and our ability to grow the team as we developed our other joint ventures over the years, is no longer there.

The news hard hit the leaders of the Montreal team, who are already distressed by the arrest of central defender Christophe Normand for an affair with a minor.

On Monday, President Mario Cecchini spoke with one of the two representatives about the Spiegel estate, who will now handle the case. From now on, he will be in touch with one of these two actors or someone else the estate appoints by next week.

The potential sale of the team has not been discussed at this time.

We’ll see tomorrow (Tuesday), but in my talk today, there was no doubt, for now, about a change of structure or owners. We’ll see how the major contributor sees that over the next few days or weeks.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the situation is changing so quickly and that Alloys are once again finding themselves in search of investors, just over two years after completing the sale to the Ontario Group.

According to Mario Siskini, Gary Stern was already considering joining forces with the interests of Montreal.

Gary had previously said he might be interested in owning a minority of Quebec shareholders, in a plan to buy 100% of the club for eventual sale. There are people who have said to me: Mind you, if this happened to the owner, I might be interested.

Mr. Cecchini naturally declined to name these potential investors.

Normand case: Aloyt in shock

Although Aloitte issued a press release over the weekend to say the team would not comment on Christophe Normand’s case, players and coaches still appeared in shock during the first training session of the week, Monday at Percival-Molson Stadium.

Christopher Normand

Photo: Montreal Alouettes / DOMINICK GRAVEL

General manager and interim coach Danny Macciusia spoke about it during his first intervention with players returning from a week-long break.

Maciocia did not want to say more about the content of his letter.

When asked about his reaction when he heard the news of his player’s arrest, he simply said, I was upset I say..

The one who would occasionally replace Norman at the center of defence, Alexander Jani didn’t want to expand on this topic either.

Everyone’s reaction was surprise. That’s all I will say. It’s a surprise to everyone, a shock to everyone.

Running director Andre Bolduc summed up the general feeling within the team well.

You know we’re not allowed to comment, but like everyone else I was in shock. Our thoughts go to the families involved in this story. That’s all we can do now.

As for the team leader, Mario Cecchini, he let his emotions show.

I have two daughters. So my reaction was to think of that young woman, that family…

Her recent comments reinforced her initial message of support for the girl.

There is a presumption of innocence in Quebec, we all understand that. But when the police arrive at your house and everything is done in a couple of weeks, it still means that this little girl, who suffered from it, definitely gave important clues to the police.

Then, you think of our player and you say to yourself, I never would have thought that. But my first thoughts went not to the player, but to the victim. [présumée].