OL in Ligue 2, Lyon's discredit

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Although it is appealed, the shock decision to demote the seven-time French champion sounds like a repudiation of the methods of its American boss, John Textor, who uses a combination of shell games and budgetary cavalry. The financial watchdog of French football is no longer buying.

An OL store in Lyon on June 25. With the club's administrative relegation to Ligue 2, the club's president, American John Textor, has been overwhelmingly rejected by supporters. (Jeff Pachoud /AFP)

A thick mystery reigned this Wednesday, June 25, over what could have motivated the confirmation of the administrative relegation of Olympique Lyonnais (OL) to Ligue 2 by the DNCG, the financial watchdog of French football: according to L'Equipe , the justifications for the thunderclap that removed the Rhône club from the French elite are not expected before Friday. What we do know: in January, John Textor, the president of OL, had promised to cover a deficit of 175 million euros to appease a body that had sent him to Ligue 2 two months earlier "as a precautionary measure", this prospect of sanction resembling in fact an alert. In recent days, the native of Kirksville (Missouri) displayed a confidence that he has ultimately never lost since