Can the Girondins de Bordeaux club, founded more than a century ago, be wiped out with the stroke of a pen? Since the administrative relegation of the Girondins to National 1 (third division) confirmed Tuesday on appeal by the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG), the threat hovers and the question worries. The Ultramarines, the main support group, are even calling for a “survival walk” this Saturday in the streets of Bordeaux. Observers, employees, supporters, supporters of the club are waiting.
“Dramatic consequences”
In the preamble to a press conference on Thursday, the president of the club, Gérard Lopez – whose speech was particularly awaited – expressed less his concern than his incomprehension. “We firmly believe that we have a project that holds up. […] This club, it has a future which is positive, much more than during the recovery. The manager concedes it, he was “criticitable” on the resale of players in order to replenish the fund. “But today, we have offers. The amount of sales will greatly exceed what is requested,” he assured with incredible confidence, given the unprecedented crisis that the club is going through. “We are not here to beg, we have the funds to go until the end of the season [de Ligue 2]», the 50-year-old Hispano-Luxembourg shareholder repeated again and again.
However, the picture is gloomy: if the Girondins cannot return to L2, the company will find itself in immediate liquidation, deprived of income linked to the first two professional divisions, in particular television rights. In this scenario, nearly 300 employees would find themselves on the floor, not counting the contracts of the terminated players (the pros, male and female, like the youngest of the training center). Local authorities would also pay a heavy price: “80 million euros” due to unpaid rent on the Matmut Atlantique stadium, according to Lopez, who took part in a meeting with the mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic, and the president of Bordeaux-Métropole, Alain Anziani, just before the conference. The latter signed a joint press release hoping to influence the future: “It is not conceivable to stick to this decision in view of the dramatic consequences for the club and the territory. In particular, the Bordeaux commercial court had recently validated the guarantees negotiated between the club and its creditors, documents yet rejected by the sports body.
Two weeks to appeal
Responding to the question of a journalist who asked if the DNCG could have him personally in the crosshairs, the businessman replied tit for tat: “I hope not. If that were the case, it would be serious to pay 300 jobs for that. The only reason would be because I arrived in French football and managed to take European places that other clubs thought they had forever. Always so confident.
In the aftermath of this descent into hell, only two recourses seem possible for the Girondins. They have two weeks to appeal the decision to the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), a conciliation body. At the same time, they can also seize the judge in chambers of the administrative court. “The CNOSF must be able to meet calmly and examine our case as objectively as possible”, argues the lawyer of the Girondins, Me Cotret. “We will not accept that the club disappears”, insisted Gérard Lopez. Even if the ball is no longer in his court.