FFBB shuts the door on AS Monaco
The long-running saga surrounding AS Monaco Basket appears to be reaching a decisive stage. After being excluded from the professional leagues, Roca Team believed it had found a solution by joining NM1.
However, on Saturday, the FFBB Federal Bureau rejected the club’s application, following the unfavorable opinion of the Federation’s financial control commission.
The reason given by the FFBB was continued uncertainty regarding the “sincerity and reliability of the company’s financial situation.”
Monaco lawyer: “It is absolutely tragic”
The decision triggered a strong reaction in the Principality. Speaking to Nice-Matin, AS Monaco lawyer Maître Xavier Le Cerf-Galle strongly criticized the Federation’s decision.
Swiss investor Thomas Kurk had committed to investing €10 million per season to restructure the club, acquiring a 97% stake.
According to Le Cerf-Galle, the issue was primarily administrative, with the club failing to provide a stamped certificate from its auditor within the required deadline.
“A completely new investor putting €10 million on the table gets a monumental rejection from the Federal Bureau because he is being made to pay for the administrative mistakes of the past”.
The lawyer added: “We are being refused entry to NM1 because the auditor did not have time to put a stamp on it. The club has been restructured, the accounts are now in excellent shape, everything is in place to preserve jobs and build a strong team that would have attracted crowds every weekend in NM1. It is absolutely tragic”.
FFBB: “We must treat every club the same way”
The French Federation defended its decision.
FFBB president Jean-Pierre Hunckler rejected any suggestion that political considerations were behind the decision.
“This decision has nothing to do with politics”.
Hunckler explained that Monaco had been granted additional time and that the financial control commission had worked extensively on the case, but that when the Federal Bureau met, Monaco had not provided the guarantees required of all NM1 clubs.
“My duty, as I have always said, is to treat every club in the same way”.
Monaco prepares another appeal
The AS Monaco amateur association returned to competition at NM3 level over the weekend, while SA AS Monaco Basket is now facing the possibility of bankruptcy.
The club, however, is not giving up.
Armed with the auditor’s certification, Monaco’s management will once again file an urgent appeal with the CNOSF.
The saga is therefore set to continue in the coming days before the sports conciliators, while another key date is October 2, when the case is scheduled to be heard by the Monaco court.
Commenta
Visualizza commenti