The 2011–12 Coupe de France was the 95th season of France's most prestigious cup competition. The competition was organized by the French Football Federation (FFF) and open to all clubs in French football, including clubs from the overseas departments and territories (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Réunion). The final was contested on 28 April 2012 at the Stade de France. The defending champions were Lille, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 in the final of the 2010–11 season. The winner of the competition qualified for the group stage of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.

On 28 April 2012, first division club Lyon defeated semi-professional third-tier Quevilly 1–0 in the 2012 Coupe de France Final courtesy of a first half goal from Lisandro López to win its fifth Coupe de France title. The title is the club's first domestically since winning the same competition in 2008. The runners-up, Quevilly, alongside fellow National club Gazélec Ajaccio, were awarded the Petit Poucet Plaque, an award given to the best performing non-professional club in the Coupe de France.

Calendar

On 17 June 2011, the FFF announced the calendar for the 95th Coupe de France season.

Round First match date Fixtures Clubs New entries this round Prize money Notes First Round 13 August 2011The qualifying rounds are organized by the regions' respective regional and departmental leagues. Each regions' qualifying rounds lasts six rounds in order to determine the regional and departmental clubs that will earn a berth in the seventh round. 3,016 7,429 → 4,413 6,032 Second Round 27 August 2011 2,097 4,413 → 2,316 1,178 Third Round 17 September 2011 1,097 2,316 → 1,219 97 Clubs participating in CFA 2 gain entry. Fourth Round 1 October 2011 576 1,219 → 643 55 Clubs participating in CFA gain entry. Fifth Round 15 October 2011 298 643 → 345 20 Clubs participating in National gain entry. Sixth Round 29 October 2011 149 345 → 196 none €1,500 Seventh Round 19 November 2011 88 196 → 108 20 €6,000 Clubs participating in Ligue 2 gain entry. Eighth Round 10 December 2011 44 108 → 64 none €35,000 Round of 64 7 January 2012 32 64 → 32 20 €40,000 Clubs participating in Ligue 1 gain entry. Round of 32 21 January 2012 16 32 → 16 none €60,000 Round of 16 7 February 2012 8 16 → 8 none €130,000 Quarter-finals 20 March 2012 4 8 → 4 none €280,000 Semi-finals 10 April 2012 2 4 → 2 none €560,000 Final 28 April 2012 1 2 → 1 none €700,000 Coupe de France Final at the Stade de France.

News

Coupe de France final date change

In February 2011, it was reported by the French media that the French Football Federation had scheduled the 2011–12 edition of the Coupe de France final to be played on 5 May 2012. The date is significant because it would mark the 20th anniversary of the Furiani disaster, which occurred when a tribune at the Stade Armand Cesari in Furiani collapse during a Coupe de France semi-final match between SC Bastia and Marseille. The tragedy resulted in the death of 18 individuals and injuries to over 2,000. The resulting outcry and criticism of the decision to schedule the final on that date led to the Federation issuing a statement declaring that the official calendar for the competition had not been released, so the reports were only rumors. On 31 March 2011, the schedule was released and the date for the final was set for 28 April 2012.

Tourcoing and Viry-Châtillon ruling

In the 2010–11 Coupe de France, a seventh round match between Tourcoing and Viry-Châtillon was abandoned after 30 minutes following an altercation between two opposing players, which resulted in a brawl breaking out and dozens of spectators invading the field of play. The brawl led to a player losing consciousness and an assistant referee suffering a back injury after being hit with debris. The incident required police and firefighter intervention and, despite handing out four red cards as a result of the altercation, the referee called the match off after repeated failed attempts to restore calm. On 3 December 2010, the French Football Federation ruled that, due to the incidents that occurred in the match, both clubs would be disbarred from this year's competition, effective immediately. Both clubs will also be ineligible to appear in the 2011–12 competition, as well.

Regional qualifying rounds

All of the teams that enter the competition, but are not members of Ligue 1 or Ligue 2, have to compete in the regional qualifying rounds. The regional qualifying rounds determine the number of regional clubs that will earn spots in the 7th round and normally lasts six rounds.

Seventh Round

The draw for the seventh round of the Coupe de France was held on 3 November 2011 at the headquarters of the Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français (CNOSF), the national sporting committee of France, and was conducted by former French internationals Grégory Coupet, Willy Sagnol, Olivier Dacourt, and Xavier Gravelaine as well as current French women's international Élise Bussaglia. The overseas regional draw was held the previous day on 2 November at the headquarters of the French Football Federation. The matches were played on 18–20 November.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway team 1 Vallée de la Gresse 0–1 Chamalières 2 Feurs 1–2 Clermont 3 L'Etrat La Tour 0–6 Grenoble 4 Annecy 1–4 Lyon Duchère 5 Rachais 1–3 Thiers 6 Domerat 1–1 (3–4 p) Lyon Décines 7 Gieres 2–9 Gazélec Ajaccio 8 Alès 0–5 AS Monaco 9 Gravelines 3–0 Deville Maromme 10 Dunkerque 1-0 Rouen 11 Longuenesse 1–3 Calais 12 AC Amiens 1–3 Le Havre 13 Sannois Saint-Gratien 2–1 Lens 14 La Gorgue 0–1 Chantilly 15 Le Portel 1–0 Dieppe 16 Aire-sur-la-Lys 0–1 Marck 17 Marseille Ardziv 0–0 (3–4 p) Calvi 18 La Grand-Motte 0–2 La Tour-Saint Clair 19 Aubagne 0–1 Fréjus Saint-Raphaël 20 Bourg de Péage 1–0 Castelnau le Crès 21 La Seyne-sur-Mer 0−8 Bastia 22 Montélimar 1−4 Bourg-Péronnas 23 Marseille Félix Pyat 0–1 Uzès-Pont-du-Gard 24 Valence 2–0 Arles-Avignon 25 Sundhoffen 0–3 Montceau Bourgogne 26 Saint Vit 2–1 Dinsheim 27 Belfort Sud 0–1 Mulhouse 28 Beaune 4–0 Saverne 29 Mâcon 0–1 Sedan 30 Holtzwihr 0–3 Louhans-Cuiseaux 31 Ornans 0–4 Créteil 32 Pontarlier 3–1 Amiens SC 33 Haguenau 1–5 Forbach 34 Naborienne Saint-Avold 1–3 Prix-lès-Mézières 35 Adamswiller 0–2 Reims 36 Yutz 0–3 Paris 37 Metz 4–1 Beauvais 38 Verdun Belleville 0–2 Strasbourg 39 Schiltigheim 2–1 Saint-Dié 40 Magny 0–1 Jarville 41 Montagnarde 1–1 (3–1 p) Mondeville 42 Fougère 0–1 Vannes 43 Alençon 1–2 Changé

Tie noHome teamScoreAway team 44 Tregunc 1–3 Tour d'Auvergne Rennes 45 Cesson 2–3 Vitré 46 Plouhinec 0–3 Le Mans 47 Saint-Malo 1–2 Guingamp 48 Les Sables-d'Olonne 2–1 Pontivy 49 La Flèche 1–2 Limoges 50 Evry 2–0 Moulins 51 Nouaille 0–2 Troyes 52 Feytiat 0–2 Orléans 53 Versailles 3–1 Romorantin 54 Les Lilas 0–1 Alfortville 55 Saran 3–2 Brétigny 56 Bourges 0–3 Istres 57 Aulnoye 1–1 (3–1 p) Chambly 58 Racing Clermont 2–5 Quevilly 59 Villers Outreaux 2–0 La Chapelle-Saint-Luc 60 Feignies 3–2 Saint-Quentin 61 Wasquehal 0–0 (2–4 p) Boulogne-sur-Mer 62 Drancy 3–0 Sézanne 63 Arras 3–1 Saint-Dizier 64 Avion 0–1 Tours 65 Olonne-sur-Mer 2–7 Saint-Colomban Locminé 66 Avrille 0–8 Vendée Fontenay 67 La Guerche-Drouges 1–2 Angers 68 La Suze-sur-Sarthe 0–1 Laval 69 Sablé-sur-Sarthe 4–2 Le Poiré-sur-Vie 70 Larmor Plage Goélands 0–2 Les Herbiers 71 Chauray 2–3 Cherbourg 72 La Châtaigneraie 0–1 Vendée Luçon 73 Le Bouscat 1–3 Nantes 74 Tarbes 1–4 Niort 75 Trélissac 3–1 Balma 76 Brive 0–0 (4–2 p) Luzenac 77 Toulouse Rodéo 1–0 Aurillac 78 Cugnaux 0–1 Perpignan Canet 79 Sarlat Marcillac 0–2 Mont-de-Marsan 80 Ytrac 0–4 Châteauroux 81 Auch 0–1 Bayonne

Overseas region

Tie noHome teamScoreAway team 1 Tefana 1–2 Red Star 2 Evolucas 0–5 Avranches 3 Le Tampon 3–3 (2–4 p) Amnéville 4 Ivry 4–2 Bélimois

Tie noHome teamScoreAway team 5 Raon-l'Étape 6–0 Abeilles Mtsamboro 6 La Vitréenne 4–0 Matoury 7 Compiègne Oise 9–0 Gaïtcha

Eighth Round

The draw for the eighth round of the Coupe de France was held on 23 November 2011 at the headquarters of the French Football Federation (FFF), and was conducted by former French internationals Luis Fernández and Laurent Robert. The round featured the 88 winners of the seventh round. The matches was played through 9–12 December.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway team 1 Bourg de Péage 1–3 Lyon Duchère 2 Gazélec Ajaccio 3–0 Calvi 3 Louhans-Cuiseaux 0–4 Bastia 4 La Tour-Saint Clair 0–2 AS Monaco 5 Perpignan Canet 1–3 Fréjus Saint-Raphaël 6 Valence 3–2 Grenoble 7 Montceau Bourgogne 1–0 Uzès-Pont-du-Gard 8 Lyon Décines 0–6 Istres 9 Vendée Luçon 1–0 Trélissac 10 Vendée Fontenay 2–4 Thiers 11 Brive 0–1 Tours 12 Niort 3–2 Bayonne 13 Chamalières 0–6 Châteauroux 14 Toulouse Rodéo 1–2 Limoges 15 Mont-de-Marsan 0–0 (4–5 p) Clermont 16 Tour d'Auvergne Rennes 2–2 (4–3 p) Nantes 17 Le Mans 1–0 Guingamp 18 Les Sables-d'Olonne 2–3 Vitré 19 Sablé-sur-Sarthe 4–1 La Vitréenne 20 Avranches 3–1 Les Herbiers 21 Saint-Colomban Locminé 2–1 Vannes

Tie noHome teamScoreAway team 22 Changé 1–2 Montagnarde 23 Calais 1–2 Angers 24 Orléans 1–0 Ivry 25 Evry 1–1 (3–4 p) Drancy 26 Gravelines 1–2 Le Havre 27 Saran 1–2 Cherbourg 28 Sannois Saint-Gratien 0–2 Laval 29 Versailles 2–0 Alfortville 30 Feignies 1–1 (0–3 p) Quevilly 31 Compiègne 2–1 Dunkerque 32 Chantilly 1–0 Le Portel 33 Marck 2–1 Reims 34 Villers-Outréaux 2–4 Créteil 35 Arras 0–2 Chambly 36 Paris 0–3 Boulogne-sur-Mer 37 Amnéville 2–3 Metz 38 Prix-lès-Mézières 1–0 Schiltigheim 39 Jarville 0–4 Sedan 40 Saint-Vit 0–3 Bourg-Péronnas 41 Forbach 0–1 Red Star 42 Pontarlier 0–1 Strasbourg 43 Beaune 2–2 (0–3 p) Mulhouse 44 Raon-l'Étape 3–3 (2–4 p) Troyes

Round of 64

The draw for the Round of 64 of the Coupe de France was held on 12 December 2011 at the headquarters of Crédit Agricole, a main sponsor of the competition, in Amiens. The round featured the 44 winners of the eighth round, as well as the 20 clubs who play in Ligue 1. The matches was played through 6–9 January 2012.

Following the announcement of the draw, several amateur clubs who were hosting high-profile matches against Ligue 1 clubs announced that they would be re-locating their matches to more suitable venues. After initially scheduling its match against Montpellier to be played at the Stade Louis Dugauguez in Sedan, on 15 December, Prix-lès-Mézières confirmed that the two clubs had agreed to play the match at the Stade du Petit-Bois in nearby Charleville-Mézières. On the same day, it was announced that the Red Star Saint-Ouen–Marseille match would be played at the Stade de France, while the Saint-Colomban Locminé–Paris Saint-Germain match would be played at Stade du Moustoir in Lorient. In the former match, the country's national stadium was reconfigured to accommodate 45,000 individuals.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway team 1 Vendée Luçon 2–1 Avranches 2 Cherbourg 1–2 Châteauroux 3 Sablé-sur-Sarthe 3–3 (4–2 p) Sedan 4 Chambly 0–1 Auxerre 5 Chantilly 0–6 Lille 6 Limoges 1–0 Boulogne-sur-Mer 7 Niort 2–0 Brest 8 Saint-Étienne 1–1 (2–4 p) Bordeaux 9 Gazélec Ajaccio 1−0 Toulouse 10 Thiers 1–4 Istres 11 Valence 1–1 (7–6 p) Laval 12 Versailles 1–5 Dijon 13 Lyon Duchère 1−3 Lyon 14 Le Havre 4–3 Lorient 15 Bourg-Péronnas 2–1 Montceau Bourgogne 16 Fréjus Saint-Raphaël 0–3 Ajaccio 17 Bastia 4–1 Sochaux

Tie noHome teamScoreAway team 18 Red Star 0–5 Marseille 19 Mulhouse 1−3 Créteil 20 Angers 4–3 AS Monaco 21 Drancy 3–3 (4–2 p) Strasbourg 22 Caen 2–4 Troyes 23 Marck 0–2 Nice 24 Prix-lès-Mézières 0–4 Montpellier 25 Compiègne 2–1 Montagnarde 26 Saint-Colomban Locminé 1–2 Paris Saint-Germain 27 Orléans 0–0 (5–3 p) Clermont 28 Metz 2–2 (3–5 p) Evian 29 Vitré 1–2 Tours 30 Le Mans 0–2 Valenciennes 31 Tour d'Auvergne Rennes 0–0 (4–5 p) Quevilly 32 Rennes 3–0 Nancy

Round of 32