Bordeaux official: Club forcibly relegated to regional league, submitted materials not reviewed

In the early hours of September 4 Beijing time, Bordeaux officially announced that the club could not obtain eligibility to participate in France's National 2 league (the fourth tier) and must be relegated to the regional league (the sixth tier).

Official statement from Bordeaux Football Club

Girondins de Bordeaux learned that the meeting of the French Football Federation's Executive Committee lasted only half an hour before ending, and its press department announced at 18:30 that the club could not obtain eligibility for National 2 participation and must be relegated to the regional league.

The club expressed strong indignation over the decision.

From a legal perspective, one point is certain: no formal decision has yet been made. The Executive Committee did not review the club's application, despite the fact that we had submitted a complete set of materials; no vote was held either. The relevant authorities had not even conducted a review before claiming that the application had been rejected, which is completely unreasonable.

Regarding the incident itself, three points must be clarified:

A club founded in 1881 and a six-time Ligue 1 champion should never be pushed toward judicial liquidation after a meeting lasting only a few minutes. This completely disregards the club's history and its important position in French football.

All of the evidence submitted by the club — a legally effective court ruling confirming the club's solvency, confirmation that all funds for this season were in place and placed under regulatory control, the official entry of investors, and an available place in Group H — was not reviewed.

The issue that originally involved only a 10-day delay in the transfer of funds has now been properly resolved and should not result in such a severe punishment.

We are not seeking to take justice into our own hands; we only hope that we are not treated more harshly than other clubs. What we seek is fairness. Fairness is precisely what the club hopes for today but has not received.

Therefore, the club's request remains exactly the same as yesterday, the day before yesterday, and every previous day: it hopes that the Executive Committee and the French football financial monitoring body (DNCG) will listen to the club's explanation based on the current reality of its situation.

The club is ready to cooperate with the relevant authorities at any time and will use all legal avenues available to seek a fair and objective review of its situation. (End)