What do attackers have in common Andrew Jung, Mickaël Biron, Mamadou Thiam and the central defender Thomas Basila ? They have all four been recruited by Ostend, but they wear all the colors of AS Nancy, in French Ligue 2.
And it is no coincidence: the French Gauthier Ganaye, executive chairman of KV Ostende in the Pro League, is also the chairman of Nancy, and since the end of 2020, the American majority shareholders of the Pro League club have also acquired the Nancy club.
Financially fragile, the ASNL was able to count on its Belgian “big brother” to attract good players … while replenishing its funds: the best example? Nancy gave up her top scorer last season, Mickaël Biron, in Ostend against “a few million” highlighted The team, and did not hide from having made a “very nice operation” financial. But in the process, the KVO lent its new striker to … Nancy, for a period of two years!
These legal transactions allow certain restrictions to be circumvented (Nancy has been sanctioned by the DNCG, the control commission for professional clubs in France, and the club cannot do what it wants in terms of transfers), but the question of ethics arises.
And Nancy’s opponents in Ligue 2 are mobilizing: The team reports that last Friday, eleven Ligue 2 clubs sent a letter of protest to various players in French football (DNCG, LFP, FFF) to “denounce unfair competition.”
“The AS Nancy-Lorraine club, a historic and respectable institution of French football, has been endowed with a new governance since the beginning of the year which blithely bypasses the recruitment procedures imposed on it by the DNCG, at the following the examination of his financial situation, would underline this letter. In the meantime, and without prejudging other initiatives that would be taken both in the direction of our bodies and the competent courts, the signatory clubs will pose reservations this weekend when they meet ASNL, each time the players affected by these operations will be on the scoresheet. “
The atmosphere may be electric during the Nancy championship matches this season …
