The French Professional Football League’s (LFP) disciplinary committee officially validated Le Mans’ 2-0 triumph over Bastia this Wednesday evening, confirming Le Mans’ promotion to Ligue 1. Simultaneously, following severe crowd disturbances at their home ground, the Corsican club, Bastia, faces relegation to Ligue 3 and has been handed sanctions including two definitive closed-door stadium matches, plus an additional one suspended.
During its session this Wednesday night, the LFP’s disciplinary body upheld Le Mans’ 2-0 on-field victory against Bastia. This crucial result was achieved last Saturday during the 34th round of Ligue 2. The match was abruptly halted by referee Ruddy Buquet in its final moments, as he directed players off the pitch to ensure their safety amidst a barrage of flares and firecrackers hurled from the stands.
The game never resumed, but following a swift inquiry, the League’s disciplinary committee predictably confirmed the 2-0 scoreline. This decision propels Le Mans into the top-tier Ligue 1 and sends Bastia down to Ligue 3, which will be rebranded as a professional division next season, replacing the current National league.
Bastia avoids crucial point deduction
The Corsican club also received a penalty of two home matches to be played behind closed doors at the Stade Armand-Cesari, with an additional match suspended. Crucially, Bastia managed to avoid a one-point deduction for the upcoming season, a sanction that had loomed large. This was particularly significant as the club was already operating under a suspended sentence due to prior disturbances less than six months ago. On December 5th, a match between Bastia and Red Star was definitively called off just before the hour mark when a flare was thrown onto the pitch from the Bastia supporters’ section.
In that prior incident, the projectile had struck the back of a Red Star player, Bradley Danger. As a result, Bastia forfeited that match with a 0-0 score at the time of interruption and was also handed a suspended one-point deduction.
Remarkably, this suspended sentence was not activated. Sébastien Deneux, president of the LFP’s disciplinary commission, clarified the reasoning: “Generally, a point deduction is imposed when a match participant is physically struck. This was not the situation during the recent Bastia-Le Mans encounter. Therefore, we found no grounds to revoke the suspended sentence.”
