Olympique Lyonnais has officially been demoted to Ligue 2 after its hearing before the DNCG, a radical outcome confirmed this Tuesday, June 24. Despite an honorable sporting season—6th place in Ligue 1 and a quarter-final in the Europa League—the financial watchdog deemed that the economic guarantees provided were insufficient and confirmed the precautionary sanction issued last November. Olympique Lyonnais has officially been demoted to Ligue 2 after its hearing before the DNCG, a radical outcome confirmed this Tuesday, June 24. Despite an honorable sporting season—6th place in Ligue 1 and a quarter-final in the Europa League—the financial watchdog deemed that the economic guarantees provided were insufficient and confirmed the precautionary sanction issued last November.
In its official statement released late last night, OL expressed its incomprehension at the decision, reiterating that it had complied with all of the DNCG's demands—including through equity contributions and the sale of Crystal Palace—and asserting that it had solid cash flow for the 2025-2026 season. The club announced its intention to appeal within seven days and to use all possible legal means to challenge the verdict, with the aim of remaining in Ligue 1, while denouncing a failure to consider its financial arguments. Figures such as Sidney Govou and Jean-Michel Aulas were quick to react.
OL can still react!
Olympique Lyonnais has a very short period of time—seven days from the notification—to file an appeal with the DNCG appeals committee, a body attached to the French Football Federation, which is the club's natural first step. This appeal allows OL to submit new evidence, including proof that the promised financial contributions have been paid into the accounts, and to attempt to have the sanction lifted. If unsuccessful, the club can then refer the matter to the CNOSF (French National Olympic Sports Committee): however, this latter body, far from being an independent jurisdiction, generally limits itself to verifying the regularity of the procedure and does not accept the review of new documents.
Beyond these two avenues, OL could also take the matter to the civil courts, in particular the Paris Administrative Court, but these actions remain of little influence in this context: historically, they confirm previous decisions and only rarely reverse the decision of a sporting body. This sequence recalls the example of Bordeaux, already faced with financial difficulties and a similar relegation, without obtaining success through these appeals, accentuating the complexity of the situation for Lyon . Moreover, if the appeal of the sporting body fails, this could lead to the activation of a repechage, allowing Stade de Reims (16th during the last season in L1) to retain its place in the elite.
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