Toulouse join Lyon and Amiens in taking French league to top court

Toulouse (France) (AFP) – Toulouse have joined the growing number of clubs appealing the way the season ended by taking the French league to the country’s highest administrative court, regional media reported on Thursday.

Toulouse, last in Ligue 1 when play was halted by the coronavirus have appealed to the Council of State, La Depeche du Midi said.

The club has consistently refused to confirm whether it is appealing but in two emails sent on Tuesday to sponsors and supporters and posted online, it acknowledged that they had been dead last in the table but said they were obliged to “assert” their “rights”, without mentioning the court. 

Amiens, 19th in the table and also relegated, and Lyon, who were seventh and missed European football, have already lodged appeals. Ajaccio, left just outside the promotion places in Ligue 2, are reportedly also planning legal action.

The last Ligue 1 games were on March 8. At the urging of the government, the league board voted on April 30 to declare the season over with, for most Ligue 1 teams, 10 rounds of matches to play.

Toulouse, bottom for many months and with only three wins and 13 points from 28 games, were 14 points from potential safety.

Amiens were 10 points better off, but still four points away from the lifeline of a playoff spot. 

The league ranked teams by the ratio of points won to games played, but that did not change any of the placings in the final table.

“The Board of Directors of the Professional Football League saw fit to act on April 30, 2020, to relegate our club to Ligue 2 on the basis of a provisional ranking established 10 rounds from the end,” Toulouse said in an email about next season’s ticket prices on Tuesday.

“This may have surprised some people, but we have made a conscious decision to contest this decision. It is our responsibility to defend sporting fairness and to assert our rights, despite our 20th place.”

Earlier, Amiens also insisted they had been victims of an injustice.

“Amiens are still fighting against this decision which we find unfair, incoherent and unfounded,” Amiens president Bernard Joannin told AFP.

While the league decided to confirmed the two automatic relegations and promotions, it scrapped the playoff between the 18th team in Ligue 1 and a second-division club.

Ajaccio, along with the two clubs just behind it in Ligue 2, appealed to the French Olympic Committee but lost.

The Corsican club responded by saying: “We maintain that AC Ajaccio are destined to play in Ligue 1 next season.”

A first hearing of the supreme court is scheduled for June 4.