PSG women have lost only one league game all season to Lyon, and yet they currently sit only fifth in the Première Ligue.
How does this happen?
Bad business. It was announced back in December, after their final league game of the year, that three of PSG's wins this season would be turned into defeats. The French Football Federation (FFF) stated the reason is due to a licensing issue regarding the Canadian international Florianne Jourde.
This came after the opposition side, Fleury, filed a complaint following their league meeting with PSG, which they lost 4-0 in November.
They informed the official of the “absence of a request for International Transfer Certificate” at the time Jourdes' licence was registered.
To me, the timing seems suspect, loose badly to a side, and suddenly complain?
In response to the complaint, PSG said that they did, in fact, request the ITC from the US Soccer Federation, where the 21-year-old had been playing for the University of Southern California in the college league.
However, as that college league is not considered professional, US Soccer responded that it did not require these mandatory clearances.
The issue, however, is that before playing in the US, the Canadian international played in her home country. While the league was amateur, it was considered “organised” by FIFA. This is therefore treated as a professional for registration purposes, meaning an ITC was required.
Fleurly, who uncovered this, informed other teams within the league. I prefer the word 'snitching,' like Le Havre and Strasbourg, who have already played PSG, to ensure they are aware of their right to appeal their match result and get a win out of it.
This is because French clubs have 30 days after the end of a match to finalise the match report and identify any potential irregularities.
Once informed of the appeal made by their opposition, PSG formalised an ITC request with FIFA, which was validated within 24 hours without penalty, acknowledging a good-faith administrative error despite the request being made outside the transfer window.
This was not enough to calm the story in a disciplinary committee report. The FFF stated the club was aware of the matches played in Canada, but “believed that Jourde was registered in a university programme” and therefore did not inform the federation about it.
The FFF contacted PSG in early September to confirm if the play had been registered with a club affiliated with a national association during the previous 30 months. The club said no. Which later proved incorrect, as she had played for USC Athletics at the University of Canada.
Pending the resolution of Fleurys’ dispute. A Canadian international did not appear for the Parisian side until 17th December in a 1-1 draw against Benfica in the Champions League.
So PSG's 1-0 victory over Strasbourg, 2-0 victory over Le Havre, and 4-0 victory over Félury were forfeited before the winter break.
Despite being tipped off by Fleury, Strasbourg and Le Havre had not filed appeals with the FFF, explaining off the record to PSG that they viewed it as a technical administrative error with no sporting impact.
However, the regulations state that “any club that includes on a match sheet a player arriving from abroad who has not undergone the procedure for obtaining an International Transfer Certificate will forfeit the match if reservations, a complaint, or an ‘evocation’ are introduced”.
PSG said they consider the sanction “totally disproportionate”, adding: “The team has been heavily penalised on the sporting field for a simple administrative issue that has since been resolved without difficulty by Fifa: this is a clear injustice.” The club also points out that the federation had validated the player’s license at the start of the season, qualifying her to play in all league matches despite the missing ITC.
The club pleaded good faith, believing they would be awarded only three points for the match against Fleury. They did not anticipate a nine-point hit that would find them 16 points behind league leaders OL Lyonnes.
Internally, there is a feeling they have been harshly treated “because they are Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG were not told about the decision beforehand and only learned of the sanction via the official press release on the federation’s website on 22 December. The club have promised “to appeal this decision and will pursue all avenues of appeal provided for in the regulations to assert its rights”.
This decision has not just impacted PSG but the entire league, causing friction as they favour certain clubs, including those in the relegation battle, despite their defeats on the field.
The Lens player Sofia Guellati even called it a “distorted championship” on social media.
The decision regarding PSG’s appeal is expected to be announced in the coming days.
There is some good news for PSG fans coming out of this week, as the club is closing in on signing Everton striker Kelly Gago after she handed in a transfer request.
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