John Textor had the merit of having the courage to say out loud what he thought of French Football. But the American owner logically incurred the wrath of the people and institutions he attacked. And after Paris Saint-Germain and the LFP, it is the turn of the DNCG to respond to the Lyon leader. As a reminder, Textor had accused the French football policeman of being dependent on the League. “I think that the DNCG should not be managed by the LFP. Emails from DNCG people are hosted by the League. During our visit (in front of the DNCG), there was still an hour of presentation left and rumors of relegation were already leaking. We cannot say that there are no links between the League and the DNCG. » Faced with these remarks, The Team published the press release sent by the boss of the DNCG, Jean-Marc Mickeler, in response. And unsurprisingly, Textor was called to order.
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“The DNCG was surprised to learn of the comments made by Mr. John Textor, President of Olympique Lyonnais, during his last media intervention. (…) Mr. Textor's statements on the alleged attachment of the DNCG to the League, or on discriminatory treatment towards Olympique Lyonnais, testify to a manifest and persistent lack of knowledge of the rules of operation of the regulation financial situation of professional football in France »indicates the DNCG, which adds that Textor and OL benefited from special treatment. “Since the arrival of Mr. Textor, the DNCG has made considerable efforts to establish a constructive dialogue with the new management of Olympique Lyonnais. We devoted an unprecedented amount of time to listening, informing and responding to the club's numerous requests. Our teams took care to explain the laws and regulations, particularly French, while providing clarification on the resulting expectations. We regret that, despite this unprecedented support, Mr. Textor persists in wanting to believe that the DNCG has misunderstood its model and applied unfair treatment to OL.. And that's not all.
The FFF gets involved
In his interview, Textor also accused PSG of being illegal, calling the capital club a state club benefiting from Qatar's unlimited finances. Faced with these accusations, Mickeler invited Textor to sweep in front of his door instead of dwelling on the Parisian rival. “We leave to Mr. Textor full responsibility for the comments he made concerning the financing of other clubs (PSG). We would like to point out, however, that contributions from non-EU sovereign funds comply with applicable law. On the other hand, we are still awaiting the independent legal analyzes promised by Mr. Textor, aimed at demonstrating the compliance, with regard to company law, tax law and football regulations, of the financing of a club by the profits generated by the sale of players from another club belonging to the same multi-ownership structure. We therefore invite Mr. Textor to concentrate his efforts on implementing the necessary measures to restore a healthy financial situation. Finally, we call on Mr. Textor to adopt a posture of responsibility. French football deserves serious investors, respectful of its institutions, and committed to working in a spirit of cooperation and transparency. Respect for existing rules and the fulfillment of its promises will be the best levers to strengthen the club and, more broadly, contribute to the development of French professional football..
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Finally, in addition to having annoyed the LFP and the DNCG, John Textor also received a backlash from the FFF which has also just published a press release. “Following the interview given by the President of Olympique Lyonnais, the French Football Federation would like to reaffirm its support and full confidence in the DNCG. It acts in complete independence and with perfect integrity in its analyses. It constitutes an essential element of the sound regulation of professional football. The FFF will not comment on the other assertions in this interview. Furthermore, the President of the FFF, Philippe Diallo, publicly expressed the serious concerns raised by the economic difficulties that professional football is going through and indicated that he would take the initiative, in the coming weeks, in conjunction with the LFP, to bring together the various stakeholders to analyze the consequences of the current situation and find avenues for the essential rebound in professional football.» If he wanted to put a big kick in the anthill, John Textor succeeded.
Pub. the 14/01/2025 13:52
– UPDATE 14/01/2025 22:24
