Beziers takeover hits the buffers
It’s taken several weeks, and several twists, but the Beziers afternoon soap opera is running down for the summer. The Emirati buyout collapsed in a mire of acrimony and finger-pointing on Monday, after French rugby’s financial police, the DNACG, refused to give their blessing. What paperwork had been handed over was not enough to convince the watchdog that the deal on the table was on a sound footing.
The buyers blamed the DNACG. Beziers’ owners blamed the buyers. The long list of players and coaches reportedly heading to the south of France evaporated – some had even been in the town that weekend, ready to sign contracts and undergo medicals in expectation that the buy-out was about to be rubberstamped, according to reports.
Days later, the club faced the DNACG again, having lost their main sponsor – a local property dealer, frustrated and wearied by the whole thing – but this time the goal was more modest: survival.
Everyone had been talking about Beziers’ anticipated glorious future once the monied new owners took over. Many forgot that the club headed into negotiations in a parlous financial state – and that is what now exercised French rugby’s financial guardians.
If the club – sitting on a deficit of several million euros – failed to provide a workable budget for the new season, relegation to the amateur leagues was a very real option.
It has happened before. The DNACG can – and has – busted clubs down the leagues. It can – and has – suspended player contracts until clubs could prove they had the funds to pay them.
This time, Beziers were able to convince the watchdog that their budget was solid. They will play ProD2 rugby next season. It was the only piece of positive news to come out of a dark week for the club. Now, at least, players and coaches can concentrate on pre-season.
That was not just good news for the club. It was also good news for the LNR, which published the full Top 14 and ProD2 fixture lists for the 2020/21 season. Losing a club would have made a mess of the schedule – with no likelihood of any Federale 1 club accepting, at this late stage, the chance of promotion.
Beziers’ first league match of their new future will be away at Mont-de-Marsan on the weekend of September 4. Their first home game follows a week later against Soyaux-Angouleme.
Meanwhile, a new-look Stade Francais, under Gonzalo Quesada, entertain last season’s top dogs Bordeaux in the opening match of the Top 14 season on September 4 – as the competition returns to Friday night lights for the first time in a few seasons.
The big match of the first weekend in the French top flight – which includes tasty encounters such as La Rochelle v Toulon and Lyon v Racing – is Clermont v Toulouse in the new Sunday 9pm fixture.
The LNR have confirmed the TV schedule for the opening three weekends of the Top 14 season. The following two weeks see that prime time Sunday fixture filled by Toulon v Lyon and Toulouse v Toulon – big games guaranteed to attract a decent TV audience, but it’s a timeslot that will not necessarily be welcomed by the fans, or clubs desperate for ticket revenue.
As it stands, grounds are expected to be open to fans when the season gets under way. Under current rules in France due to the pandemic, stadium capacity is limited to 5,000 fans. That figure is up for review sometime this month and may be eased further, assuming Covid-19 rates remain under control, towards the back-end of August.
As expected, the final few days of transfer dealings in French rugby were relatively quiet – though there were a couple of surprises. Former Clermont full-back Nick Abendanon switched to Brittany’s ambitious ProD2 side Vannes on a two-year deal, while Springbok centre Lionel Mapoe swapped the French capital for the Cote d’Azur as he ended a difficult time with Stade Francais with a move to Stade Nicois – one of the teams in the newly formed semi-professional National League, set up this year to bridge the divide between the amateur Federale leagues and the professional Pro D2.
It was no surprise to anyone when Agen confirmed Noel Reid had joined from Leicester on a two-year contract. Agen have been pretty canny in the transfer market this time around, bringing in experienced heads like Camille Gerondeau and Jean-Marcelin Buttin.
But the expected big news from the Top 14 outfit had, at the time of writing, failed to materialise. Despite much speculation, Agen have not signed Gabriel Ibitoye. Yet. As he confirmed Reid’s arrival, President Jean-Francois Fonteneau insisted to regional newspaper
Sud Ouest that they remain keen to sign the Harlequins winger, with whom they are said to be in ‘advanced’ talks. According to reports in France, administrative problems were the main obstacle.
The transfer window for French rugby officially closed on Wednesday, but Ibitoye could still make the switch from London to Agen as an ‘additional player’.
“Ibitoye could still make the switch to Agen as an ‘additonal player’ ”