French Clubs Spared from Relegation

Biarritz, Bourgoin, and Narbonne will not be relegated to Fédérale 1 after all. All three French Pro D2 clubs have been spared the axe by the DNACG, the administrative arm of the FFR. In late May it was announced that the long-established clubs were facing severe penalties for failing to submit adequate financial statements. The clubs each appealed the decision and after several weeks of uncertainty and last-minute fundraising, their efforts have been recognized and each will stay the course in Pro D2.

With the decision now final, Aix-en-Provence is officially relegated to Fédérale 1 and the club has accepted that decision after finishing at the bottom of the Pro D2 table. Joining them will be Tarbes, who have received no relief and will serve their penance after being informed of their relegation early in the season. Despite finishing second-to-last, Dax will remain in Pro D2 because of the sentence imposed on Tarbes.

The decisions have implications for several Americas players. Argentines Martín Chiappesoni and Ignacio Mieres at Dax and Canadian Andrew Tiedemann at Bourgoin will all remain in the French second division. Tarbes have lost three of their Argentinean players, with only Nicolás Vergallo choosing to remain. Agustín Costa Repetto has moved to Colomiers, Jerónimo Negrotto to Mont-de-Marsan, and Sebastián Poet to newly-promoted Soyaux Angoulême.

Leandro Pérez Galeone will play in Pro D2 after all, joining Bourgoin from Chambery. Matías Agüero is not so lucky with Provence officially moving to Fédérale 1, and he is joined by former Biarritz academy loose forward Simón Piloche. Leandro Assi has left Provence to join Biarritz, and Tomás Vallejos has resigned himself to Fédérale 1 either way by signing for Nevers.