On Friday, the DNCG caused a huge uproar in Ligue 1. It harshly sanctioned OL, threatening Les Gones with possible relegation. Grégory Schneider was not at all surprised, even believing that these sanctions came a year too late.
Can the third most powerful club in Ligue 1 behind PSG and OM fall? This is the scenario that has been emerging for OL since Friday and the appearance of its president before the DNCG. In great financial difficulty, the Rhone club was heavily sanctioned: regulated payroll, transfers prohibited in January and above all relegation to Ligue 2 as a precautionary measure. Given the debt of OL and Eagle Football Group, a departure from the elite is not at all unrealistic. Such severity questions some observers, especially since Lyon was left alone by the DNCG last summer.
Did OL steal their maintenance in June 2024?
A discordant voice is still heard among French journalists, that of Grégory Schneider. Libération’s pen didn’t really fall from its chair on Friday evening. He considers it logical that OL should be sanctioned in these proportions, even criticizing the slowness of the DNCG in this matter. In L’Equipe du Soir, he denounced the fact that the Lyon club managed to survive last season while being so in debt.
“OL will not be relegated”, John Textor challenges the DNCG
— Foot01.com (@Foot01_com) November 16, 2024
« I go to Ligue 1 clubs and for 8 months everyone has been telling me what was made official today. They (the Lyonnais) bought maintenance on credit. So we said no, it’s Pierre Sage, the sorcerer, it’s nonsense! They put on 50 plates, they escaped like that. They also went to the Coupe de France final for credit while we’re at it. […] Everyone knows what’s going on. Finally, it was made official. Quite frankly, they (the DNCG) could have been tougher before, they decided it was today “, he said with his usual verve. It now remains to be seen how OL will be treated in the coming months and whether the DNCG will pronounce the supreme sanction next June.
