“It’s a death sentence”, reacted Alain Anziani, president of the metropolis of Bordeaux, while the Bordeaux club saw its administrative demotion to National 1 on Tuesday July 5 confirmed by the appeal committee of the National Management Control Department (DNCG). This body is responsible for monitoring the accounts of professional football clubs in France. “It’s a disaster for the club, it’s a disaster for the fans, but it’s also a disaster for the whole territory”, he explained. But the president of the Metropolis still wants to believe it. He calls on the Minister of Sports to seize the French National Olympic and Sports Committee.
This decision is the death of the club?
It is a death sentence since the Girondins will never have the necessary resources to live at this level. And so, obviously, we’re going into liquidation. But all is not over yet. There are remedies available.
Are you calling for help from the Minister of Sports? What do you expect from her?
It has the power to bring together the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), which is a conciliation body. It has to be done very quickly. It must be done before the calendars are obviously launched and the competitions begin. It must be brought together very quickly so that the CNOSF can find a solution. It’s a disaster for the club, it’s a disaster for the fans, but it’s also a disaster for the whole territory. The disappearance of the Girondins is the disappearance of a sporting monument, of part of the sporting heritage and this has consequences. We are going to have between 200 and 300 dismissed employees, so it’s huge. We will have the disappearance of the training center and the disappearance of the women’s section. For us, it’s also a lot of bitterness, a lot of sadness, and also for the supporters, a lot of anger.
Are you ready to never give up?
We call for a very strong, very firm fight. After the CNOSF. There is the possibility of seizing the administrative court. Either way, we’re not giving up. We need this professional club.
Who are you angry with?
We do not understand the decision of the DNCG. The commercial court had already ruled and had validated all the documents which were rejected by the DNCG. This is a misunderstanding vis-à-vis this instance. Since the departure of M6, we have the impression that we are in the dark, that we are in improvisation and that, obviously, Gérard Lopez (president of the club) has taken his part. Gérard Lopez was also the only one to put 10 million on the table last year and I haven’t forgotten. M6 looked at the 100 million that this represented in its fund, but there was no concern for the Aquitaine and Girondin territory. So M6 also has its share of responsibility beyond the players on the pitch, of course. In fact, it’s a bad story that has been tied for a few years.