Bordeaux was demoted to Ligue 2, the second national division, at the end of the last French Championship. The DNCG, the financial watchdog of French football, then sent Bordeaux down to National 1, notably because of a €52m debt to two of its creditors: King Street and Fortress. The sanction was confirmed on appeal.

All that remained was an appeal to the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), which approved proposed rescue plan, and thus indirectly on the Girondins’ retention in Ligue 2.

Creditors have abandoned half of their debt, €14m have been sequestered as a cash guarantee and an agreement for €11m plus bonuses has been reached with an English club (Southampton) for the transfer of a player (Sékou Mara). The fact that the Bordeaux commercial court had approved this plan was also an asset.

However, the Olympic committee’s opinion is only consultative. It is the executive committee of the French Football Federation that will have to decide, probably on Wednesday as a meeting is scheduled on that date. In the meantime, Bordeaux’s match against Valenciennes, which was due to take place on Saturday evening, has not been scheduled.

If the CNOSF was unable to save Bastia from being demoted to the national side in 2017, Le Mans (2013) or Strasbourg (2011) to even lower echelons, its opinion changed the trend in 2002 for Nice and, especially, for Lens in 2014.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.