The denouement has arrived. And he is not favorable to FC Sochaux. Indeed, the Administrative Court of Paris has not issued an order favorable to the Doubs club, which therefore loses all hope of playing in Ligue 2 next season. This allows Annecy, which was waiting, to save its skin in the second division. The LFP has also published an official press release to this effect this Thursday evening.
Romain Peugeot “throws in the towel”
“In application of article 520 of the administrative regulations of the LFP, the Board of Directors of the LFP, meeting this Thursday, August 3, proceeded to the repechage of FC Annecy in Ligue 2 BKT for the 2023/2024 season to replace FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, administratively relegated following the decisions of the DNCG, confirmed by the CNOSFcan we read.
“However, in its vote, the Board of Directors made possible this repechage of FC Annecy unless the judge in chambers of the Administrative Court of Paris seized in chambers by FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on the evening of August 2 renders, before the resumption of the Ligue 2 BKT championship on Saturday August 5, 2023 at 3 p.m., an order favorable to FC Sochaux Montbéliard, in which case the Council will meet again to revoke the situation.” But it won’t.
For his part, the financier Romain Peugeot gave up his takeover operation after the rejection of the appeal to administrative justice to try to obtain his maintenance in Ligue 2. The great-grandson of the founder of the almost centenary club had met several million euros to try to guarantee the future of the FCSM, which its Chinese shareholder wishes to abandon. But this project is not viable outside Ligue 2, he said in a statement. “I throw in the towel“, he told our colleagues from France Bleu Belfort Montbéliard. Sochaux is now heading for bankruptcy.
“We have just learned of the decision of the Administrative Court of Paris dated August 3, 2023 which refuses to examine the FCSM’s request on the grounds that the urgency has not been demonstrated, while the Ligue 2 championship begins this SATURDAY“, announced Mr. Peugeot, a 33-year-old London-based financier. Evoking “a huge disappointment“, the group of investors federated by Romain Peugeot”can only regret that his project financed in full (…) is not taken into account, despite the documents communicated demonstrating this“.
A first appeal to the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) had already been rejected on Tuesday, pushing the club a little further towards filing for bankruptcy. The FCSM had therefore seized administrative justice just before the resumption of the championship. The Sochaux club is the property of the Chinese real estate group Nenking, in great financial difficulty. “It is now up to this shareholder to take responsibility“, according to the press release from Romain Peugeot.