The LFP – French professional football’s governing body – has announced this afternoon that the suspended Ligue 2 clash between Bordeaux and Rodez would not be replayed and that the hosts have been declared the losing side. The game was interrupted on 25 minutes after a member of the Ultramarines, a Bordeaux ultras group, had shoved Rodez striker Lucas Buadés, who had just opened the scoring for the visitors. Given the severity of the situation, referee Nicolas Rainville suspended the game. Last week, league authorities had indicated that a further investigation would take place regarding the attack.
On Monday, the Bordeaux-Rodez game has been declared a defeat for the home side. The decision has huge implications at both ends of the Ligue 2 table. Bordeaux needed a win with a 5-goal lead in order to be promoted to Ligue 1. As of now, they will spend another season in the second tier and second-placed Metz will join Le Havre in the top flight. Meanwhile, Rodez look set to have reached safety with those crucial three points, meaning that Annecy have gone down to National 1. Annecy and Rodez’s bitter feud over the game’s result is expected to continue.
[Communiqué] La Commission de Discipline de la LFP a prononcé ce jour une décision aussi incompréhensible que disproportionnée, tant au regard des éléments du dossier que de la jurisprudence.
— FC Girondins de Bordeaux (@girondins) June 12, 2023
Le FC Girondins de Bordeaux va saisir dans les plus brefs délais le CNOSF pour défendre… pic.twitter.com/WAltad7FRF
Bordeaux have also been docked a point for the upcoming Ligue 2 season. The Sud End of the Matmut Atlantique will be closed for four games, including two suspended. Bordeaux have, however, decided to appeal against the league authorities’ “unjustified and disproportionate” decision and take the case to the CNOSF, the Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français, the highest sporting authority in France.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
