Nine penalty points for GOAL FC due to false medical certificates

The Federal Commission for Regulations and Litigation had a (very) heavy hand for GOAL FC following the discovery of false medical certificates.

On October 2, Etoile FC Fréjus Saint-Raphaël made a request for mention against GOAL FC. The Var club believed that a Lyon player “was likely to have obtained a license by means of the production of a false medical certificate”. It turned out that five medical certificates had a strong similarity with the doctor's stamp and signature in exactly the same place.

For its part, GOAL FC investigated internally after being informed of this matter. It turns out that it was the administrative manager who produced these false medical certificates. During her hearing, she admitted “having produced and produced a false medical certificate for each of the 5 players in question”. She then explained it. “The summer period was very busy in terms of license applications to be processed and under pressure from certain people, notably the coach of the reserve team, so that players were not transferred outside the period. She used a medical certificate on which she put “blanco” to create the false documents. She wanted to get rid of these license applications before she went on vacation and didn't think about the consequences. »

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In fact, it was the medical certificate of the player Yassine Zerfaoui which was used to carry out the others. For its part, GOAL FC ensures that the doctor examined Hamed Foundikou – the only player to have played in National 2 – but later: July 30 instead of June 14. “The players were not aware and they were also in possession of regular medical certificatessaid the lawyer for the Lyon club. But which unfortunately were not produced for their license application. »

The Federal Settlement and Litigation Commission deemed the evocation request valid. She estimated “that it is undeniable that the player Hamed Foundikou participated in the National Championship 2 by means of a license obtained on the basis of the production of a false medical certificate”. The first two matches were approved. But the CFRC pronounced the loss by penalty of the matches against Hyères FC (1-1), Angoulême Charente FC (0-1) and EFC Fréjus Saint-Raphaël (2-1). This therefore makes four points acquired on the field which are withdrawn, to which must be added one penalty point for each match. That's seven points less.

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But the CFRC went further. “In order to try to restore a certain sporting fairness between the GRAND OUEST ASSOCIATION LYONNAISE and its opponents, it appears justified to inflict on the club, in application of article 4 of the Disciplinary Regulations of the FFF, a withdrawal of 1 point for each of the two matches in which the player in question irregularly participated”. Which therefore brings the sanction to a total withdrawal of nine points in the ranking! The administrative manager was suspended for ten years while President Jocelyn Fontanel, who was unaware of these falsifications, was suspended for three months.

This is a real blow for GOAL FC. Twelfth in Group A of National 2 with 11 points, the winning team will therefore find themselves with 2 points. The Lyon club will appeal this sanction which it considers extremely heavy. Furthermore, the CFRC did not impose sanctions against the players Hamed Foundikou, Soufiane Azhar, Marvin Bio, Eric Mabiala and N'Guessan Koffi. However, their licenses were cancelled. Finally, the federal commission refers the file to the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes League and the District of Lyon and Rhône for players who participated in the championships with teams 2 (Regional 1) and 3 (Departmental 1). Other sanctions could therefore be expected!

The communiqué of GOAL FC

Following several reports from National 2 clubs who were aware of medical documents mainly concerning players from our Regional 1 team (4 out of 5 players), the Federal Commission for Regulations and Litigation of the French Football Federation decided , on November 12, 2024, to sanction the GOAL FC Club of:
– The loss by penalty of the National Championship 2 matches against HYERES (score 1-1), ANGOULEME (score 0-1), FREJUS SAINT-RAPHAËL (2-1), i.e. a loss of 4 points;
– The withdrawal of one point in the ranking per penalty match, i.e. a loss of 3 points;
– The firm withdrawal of 2 points for the participation of a player (replacement) in 2 matches which cannot be the subject of a mention;
– A firm suspension for a period of 10 years for the administrative secretary; – A suspended suspension for a period of 3 months for the President;
– A fine of €3,000.

This sanction from the Federation being questionable and very disproportionate in its quantum, GOAL FC decided, today, to refer the matter to the Higher Appeal Commission of the FFF. GOAL FC recalls that the administrative errors noted had no impact on the regularity and sporting fairness of the matches played by the first team since they mainly concern players from the team playing in Regional 1, and that the The players in question all had a valid medical certificate on the day of the said matches.