Caen was eliminated from the Coupe de France for having aligned “a player under suspensionduring his 8th round match won 3 goals to 0 against Vire, a National 3 club which will play in the 32nd finals this weekend.
«The FFF Rules and Disputes Commission gave SM Caen a lost match against AF Virois in the 8th round of the Coupe de France“, said in a press release published Tuesday evening the French Football Federation (FFF).
«One of the Caen players lined up during this match was under suspension“, said the FFF.
The Caen player in question, Dieudonné Gaucho, came into play during the match between Caen and Vire played on December 21. This player who normally plays with the reserve team of the Norman club, currently 7th in Ligue 2, should not have been aligned, since he had a suspension match to serve.
Vire will therefore face Nantes, winner of the last edition of the Coupe de France, on Sunday.
Caen has given up appealing to the FFF Higher Appeal Commission: “The club takes note of the decision and wishes the Vire club good luck for the rest of this competition.“, he reacted in a press release
«There was a misinterpretation of the rules of the French Football Federation, Dieudonné had received his cards in N2 and served his suspension match in this championship“, explained Yohan Eudeline, the sports director of the Stade Malherbe de Caen.