OL relegated to Ligue 2: the club appears before the DNCG appeals committee on Wednesday

Olympique Lyonnais (OL) will finally be heard on Wednesday, July 9, by the appeals committee of the National Directorate of Control and Management (DNCG) – and not on Thursday, July 10, as press articles had initially suggested – Le Monde has learned, confirming information from Agence France-Presse. The DNCG, the "financial watchdog of French football," had pronounced OL's administrative demotion to Ligue 2 on June 24. The club has appealed to the federal appeals committee.

Weakened by the club's relegation, the boss of the Eagle Football holding company, John Textor, who failed, during the three previous hearings before the DNCG, to demonstrate the solidity of his club multi-ownership system, has decided to withdraw from the seven-time French champion club .

Michele Kang, already the owner of the women's team OL Lyonnes, took over as president of the men's club, along with German Michael Gerlinger, who was appointed general manager. On June 30, the 66-year-old American businesswoman, born in Seoul, South Korea, became the first woman to hold the position of president of a professional men's football club in France.

According to a source close to the case, the reason for the demotion lies in the distribution of the funds injected by the Eagle Football Holdings multi-ownership company. The challenge for OL is to raise the missing money, put it in the right place—in an account assigned to the Rhône club in this case—and prove its credentials.

The decision, which will be handed down Wednesday, also affects OL's European destiny. If they remain in Ligue 1, they should be able to play in the Europa League , once UEFA has studied the issue of timeshare ownership with Crystal Palace, who also qualified for this competition. Eagle has announced the upcoming sale of its stake in the London club.

If OL is relegated to Ligue 2, its place will go to Strasbourg, and Strasbourg's place in the Conference League will go to Lens.