Having been relegated to National 2 last year, GOAL FC still hopes to regain the Girondins de Bordeaux’s place in N1. But the French Football Federation has not responded to the Lyon club’s requests.
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The Saint-Exupéry stadium in Marignane-Gignac is likely to ring very hollow on Saturday, August 17 at 7 p.m. The club from the suburbs of Marseille is supposed to start its National 2 season at home against GOAL FC (Grand ouest association lyonnaise football), relegated like it last year. But the Lyon club’s player, Enzo Reale, has announced that his team will refuse the opposition. “Boycott, tonight we will not play in Marignane”he assured on his social networks. A message widely relayed.
14th in National 1 last year, GOAL FC was relegated to the lower tier, but was counting on Bordeaux’s misfortunes to keep its place in the third French tier. Initially sent to N1, the Girondins were finally condemned to play one division lower, leaving National 1 with 17 clubs. A godsend for the Lyon club, the “best” relegated last year, which offered to stay in the third division to have a championship with 18 clubs.
GOAL FC has been directly supported by the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP), which assures that it shares “the opinion of players she supports and who, last season, proved in sporting terms that they deserved to stay in this competition by taking 14th place”. A support that was ultimately in vain since the French Football Federation refused to convene an exceptional Executive Committee (Comex) to study the Lyon club’s request, the only way to get around the July 17 deadline for the composition of the groups. Despite the cries of outrage to snatch a maintenance by default, it is indeed a future in National 2 that is looming for GOAL FC, which risks losing the match against Martigues-Gignac on the green carpet.
