French giants Lyon ‘provisionally relegated’ in sanction that could impact Premier League side Crystal Palace

Olympique Lyonnais have been provisionally relegated from Ligue 1 due to their ongoing financial issues, talkSPORT understands.

The French club have also been given a transfer ban after racking up more than £500million in debt.

2 Lyon look to be in deep trouble Credit: GETTY

According to talkSPORT's Ben Jacobs, the club were due to appear before France’s financial football watchdog, the DNCG, on Friday morning.

This was to discuss the future of its operations.

The club, whose majority owner is Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor, were confident they could convince the DNCG that Lyon will be in a better financial situation come the end of the season.

French outlet L'Equipe reports chiefs were going to detail the potential sale of players from their stock or that of their Brazilian club Botafogo, as well as the sale of Eagle Group’s 45 per cent share in Crystal Palace, to the DNCG.

Now, though, the club have been handed severe sanctions, with them needing to get their finances in line before the end of the season to avoid relegation.

They will need circa €100m (£91m) in revenue to escape their current punishments.

Their payroll is now also controlled by the DNCG.

Former Ligue 1 winners Girondins Bordeaux suffered similar punishment before they were relegated to the fourth tier of French football.

They had been demoted to Ligue 2 after failing to clear their debts, then were sent further down by the DCNG.

They dropped to the fourth tier earlier this year after giving up their professional licence and being unable to guarantee financial backing.

2 Lyon were handed the severe punishments on Friday Credit: GETTY

The Eagle Football Group bought 87.7 per cent of Lyon in 2022.

Majority stakeholder, Textor, has been looking to sell his 45 per cent Palace shares since February.

He also owns RWD Molenbeek in Belgium and Botafogo in Brazi, and was also interested in buying Everton.

He missed out on purchasing the Toffees, though.

Earlier this month, talkSPORT reported the American businessman was keen on buying Championship club Watford.

Lyon, now in crisis, currently sit fifth in Ligue 1.

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They are also competing in the Europa League this season and currently sit ninth, two points off escaping the play-offs and qualifying for the next round.

Les Gones have not been outside of France's top tier since the 1980s.

French businessman Jean-Michel Aulas bought the club in 1987.

He oversaw their promotion from what is now known as Ligue 2 in the 1988/89 season.

Since then, Lyon have won Ligue 1 seven times, with them dominating French football in the early 2000s.

Their last league title came in 2008.

The club have also won the French Cup five times, as well as the French League Cup in 2001, and reached the Champions League semi-finals as recently as 2020.

Aulas sold the club to EFG in 2022.

Last term Lyon finished in sixth place, 23 points behind Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.

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