Like Birger Meling, on the evening of relegation against Lyon, Nîmes Olympique will have to recover from a new crisis that weakens the club. – AFP
- The president of SASP du Nîmes Olympique, Rani Assaf, reportedly announced to employees his intention to withdraw from the Gard club, in which he holds 80% of the capital.
- The declaration is a further step in the opposition between the professional section and the association, against the backdrop of arbitration by the municipality, while the club is mired in a sports and financial crisis.
- Rani Assaf’s desire to halve the resources devoted to the training center and to place his men at the head of the association has ignited the powder.
The crisis that had been raging for several weeks at Nîmes Olympique came to light. Relegated sportingly to Ligue 2, the Gard club simply risks being struck off the professional football card. According to Free noon, the president of SASP Rani Assaf has indeed announced to employees his intention to withdraw from the Gard club, in which he holds 80% of the capital.
Like all of French football, Nîmes Olympique is in a precarious financial situation due to the health crisis and the lack of ticketing, to which was added that of TV rights after the withdrawal of Mediapro. So far, the former Free executive seemed ready to make up the 6-7 million euros deficit at the end of this season.
Attacks and Counterattacks
But since Monday, tensions behind the scenes have come to light. To limit operating costs and gain profitability, the president initially announced his intention to close the training center. Then an agreement was reached with the mayor of Nîmes Jean-Paul Fournier (LR), to keep a low cost center with an operating budget reduced by half (700,000 euros) … on condition of placing trusted men at the head of the amateur section.
A decision experienced as a declaration of war by the amateur section (owner of the affiliation number, essential to participate in the competitions managed by the FFF and the LFP), supported by the supporters’ clubs. “The town hall and the SASP want to control our association. By what right ? They totally obscure our democratic functioning, ”the association was indignant in a letter sent Thursday to its ex officio members. The association’s board of directors (in charge of the amateur section of the club) is due to meet this Friday evening.
The new stadium project would also be abandoned
The president of the association, Yannick Liron, disowned by the agreement reached between Rani Assaf and the mayor, tendered his resignation on Tuesday. For several weeks, he had been looking for an alternative solution to find funding to the tune of 1.5 million euros for the training center, in particular by appealing to the members of the association that he hoped to transform into socios, on the model of big Spanish clubs.
The association’s letter on Thursday therefore prompted Rani Assaf’s immediate response. He would also have announced to the partners his intention to put an end to the new Nemausus stadium. In 2019, he bought the current Costières stadium and its land for eight million euros, with the plan to destroy it to build a new one as part of a vast real estate program.
Real desire to start or a simple bluff
He called an extraordinary board of directors on Thursday, where he could announce his intention to file for bankruptcy. A brutal decision which would raise fears, in the absence of a buyer, the disappearance of the club and the demotion of the first team in National 3 (current level of the reserve).
But this decision would also have very serious financial consequences for the current president of SASP, who would see millions of euros of investment evaporate. So much so that several members of the association see it more as a blackmail and bluff, than a real desire to leave the ship.