Albi's demotion confirmed
The French Rugby Federation's Commission of Appeals has confirmed that Albi would be retrograded from the Top 14 to Pro D2 for financial irregularities. The news means that Dax have been saved from relegation but Albi have vowed to take their case to the French Olympic Committee .
The French Rugby Federation's Commission of Appeals has confirmed that Albi would be retrograded from the Top 14 to Pro D2 for financial irregularities. The news means that Dax have been saved from relegation but Albi have vowed to take their case to the French Olympic Committee .
Despite the Tarn club's most rigorous efforts, Albi were left to deal with the heartbreaking news of their demotion on Tuesday – less than two weeks after earning their place in the Top 14 on the playing field.
The club's leadership spent more than two hours trying to convince the French Federation's Appeals Committee in Paris of their sound financial situation, in vain. A source close to the case told the AFP that ” Albi's problems had less to do with money than it's conduct.”
The League's decision to retrograde Albi by one division announced on April 19 for errors of accountancy on the part of the club's previous management was upheld.
The decision is evidently a severe blow for Albi, who have battled on in recent weeks with the faint hope that they might be saved. In a last-ditch effort they will now present their case to the Comité National Olympique Sportif Français. A positive outcome seems a very unlikely scenario but hope springs eternal for club president Bernard Archilla.
“A certain number of things were done due to passion, under pressure, but without any dishonest intentions,” Serge Bodoira, president of the club's administrative council, told French daily Dépêche du Midi.
“There was no embezzlement but rather misunderstandings and things were badly presented. All these imperfections have been sorted out.”
Sorted out, but obviously not forgiven.
Dax have been given a lifeline. With a new coach in Thomas Lièvremont and a new full-back in Italian international David Bortolussi, the club from Les Landes can now start building for the future rather than grappling for promotion to the Top 14.
For Albi however the situation is the direct opposite, with the recently signed contracts of players like Thibault Lacroix and Pierre Correia, who have just been called up to then French national side, no doubt now in question.