Court halts Girondins Bordeaux' bankruptcy

A commercial court decided on Tuesday to place Bordeaux Bordeaux in receivership, allowing the historic French football club to escape from liquidation for the time being. The commercial court in Bordeaux (south-west) granted the club's request to be placed in receivership and avoid the start of liquidation proceedings.

The Bordeaux club provided the necessary financial guarantees to play, next season, in the French Third Division (called National). The court decision means that Girondins' debts, some 90 million euros, are frozen for a period of six to 18 months, and that a period of up to ten years is opened for the club to negotiate with creditors to reduce its debts, according to the regional daily 'Sud Ouest'.

The court appointed a receiver, but kept the owner and president, Spanish-born Luxembourg businessman Gerard Lopez, in office. Several hundred fans gathered outside the court's headquarters to show their support for the club's continuity and to demand, once again, the departure of Lopez, who they blame for the club's situation, even though, when he bought the team in July 2021, it was already in a critical situation.

The Girondins informed the French Football Federation (FFF) last week of their exit from professional football due to their serious financial problems. All players were released from their contracts and the closure of the training centre was announced. That decision came two days after the National Management Control Directorate (DNCG, the financial gendarme of French football), relegated the club to the Third Division because of its financial problems and after negotiations with a potential investment group failed to come to fruition.