2023-07-12 19:00:44
It is a monument of French football in danger. FC Sochaux-Montbéliard (FCSM), one of the founders of French professional football, is threatened with disappearance after the confirmation on appeal of its administrative relegation to National (third division), Tuesday July 11, after having finished the last season in ninth place in Ligue 2.
The finding of the National Management Control Department (DNCG), an independent commission of the Professional Football League (LFP), responsible for monitoring the accounts of professional football clubs in France, is without appeal. Faced with a deficit estimated at 21 million euros, the financial and administrative policeman assigned a heavy sanction, despite the rescue plan presented by the management of the Doubs club.
A bitter observation for the supporters
The consequence of a sum of bad decisions within the legendary Sochaux team, whose creation dates back to 1928. The appointment, in 2019, of Samuel Laurent, previously self-proclaimed Al-Qaida specialist, as Director General of Sochaux-Montbéliard is particularly singled out.
The man, called“completely incompetent” by Jean-Claude Plessis, president of the FCSM from 1999 to 2008 interviewed by Eurosportis suspected of having spent millions to attempt an impossible comeback in Ligue 1. “As he is the only interlocutor of Nenking (Chinese owner of FCSM, Editor’s note)he can tell them anything and everything”, protested the former manager. The Chinese group has not been able to fill the forecast deficit for the coming season. Despite the sale of many players, the conglomerate specialized in real estate did not pay the missing money. Several local media announce that the club is threatened with disappearance for lack of buyer.
A bitter observation for Ludovic, member of the “Crazy Lions of Sochaux”, a group of supporters founded in 1992: “When you hand over the reins to incompetents, this is what happens, he protests. Today, I am deeply disgusted by all this, but we will continue to support the club, no matter what. »
“Faced with such a disaster, it will soon be time to establish the responsibilities, in particular with regard to the contempt and the broken promises of the Chinese shareholder Nenking, as well as the cavalier management of the management.says Nicolas Pacquot, Renaissance deputy for Doubs. A sacred union is essential to prepare for the future. »
Football out of control?
But the case of Sochaux is not isolated. Just a year ago, a similar situation affected the Girondins de Bordeaux club, which was chasing around fifteen million euros necessary to avoid being demoted. The sale of high-caliber players had provided a saving reprieve. AS Nancy Lorraine, also threatened with administrative relegation to National 3 this year by the DNCG, will ultimately remain in National 2, but will see its payroll strictly regulated. These cases are reminiscent of that of SC Bastia. In 2016, the Corsican club went directly from Ligue 1 to National 3 and had to file for bankruptcy to lose its professional status.
“Most of the time it is the sporting risk that leads to a financial problem”explains Richard Duhautois, co-author of football money (1). “When you are used to Ligue 1 and suddenly you go to Ligue 2, the shock is terrible and your reflex is very often to spend to try to go up as quickly as possible. Except that the recipes of a Ligue 2 club are not the same. »
For the specialist, even if financial aid is provided for clubs descending from the elite, they do not compensate for the sudden change in environment, for sports entities accustomed to the top of the table. “In England, you have what are called ‘parachute payments’, degressive aid over three years, which allows clubs that are fallingto maintain their budget. In France, there is no such insurance. »
The bad anticipation of a relegation and the risky sporting and budgetary choices which result from it explain for Richard Duhautois the situation of the clubs mentioned above. But the latter is reassuring: “In reality, when we look at the liabilities of certain clubs on the verge of bankruptcy such as Bastia, Grenoble or Strasbourg, we realize that after several complicated years, they have finally recovered. » In our English neighbours, some of the most popular clubs in the world such as Chelsea and Arsenal have themselves gone through phases of liquidation and yet today are close to the upper echelons of European football. “It may take time, but big clubs never really die”predicts Richard Duhautois.
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A historic club
Sochaux is one of the founders of the first French professional championship, in 1932. He already hosted the Peugeot Cup, ancestor of this championship, created by the car manufacturer, who had founded the club in 1928.
FCSM ranks fourth in the number of matches played in the top flight in France, with 2,368 matchesbehind Marseille (2,578), Saint-Étienne (2,532) and the Girondins de Bordeaux (2,544).
Twice French champion (1935, 1938), winner of the Coupe de France in 1937 and 2007 and the Coupe de la Ligue 2004FC Sochaux can boast of having also played in a UEFA Cup semi-final in 1981. At the time, the club had been beaten by the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
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