DNCG chief hits back at John Textor following Lyon sanctions

In an interview with L’Équipe published today, Jean-Marc Mickeler, the president of the DNCG – French football’s financial watchdog – notably spoke about the organisation’s decision to monitor Lyon’s transfer business and wage bill this summer.

The DNCG’s decision came in the wake of concerns over what they saw as a lack of guarantees over a €60m sum as part of the club’s budget, and was confirmed after Les Gones saw their appeal rejected ten days.

Lyon’s new owner, John Textor, has voiced his frustration at the decision, and at the obstacles it has posed with regard to his plans for the club. Speaking to L’Équipe, Mickeler insisted that he has spoken with Textor on an a number of occasions and had been clear in what was required, while also adding that the decision would have been the same if long-time president Jean-Michel Aulas was still in charge.

He goes on to explain that Lyon needed to have €60m in a current account ready to be used – he says that the guarantees Textor put forward did not match that definition, either on the day of the initial hearing or for the appeal. 

Mickeler, who is also the Global Audit and Assurance CEO at Deloitte, rejected the idea that the DNCG could have been influenced by Aulas to make things difficult for Textor –“The 18 members [of the commission] are completely independent, and decisions are taken unanimously […] Nobody puts pressure on the DNCG.”

According to Mickeler, the DNCG had made the Eagle Football Holdings chief aware from the start that the project he put forward was dependent on clinching European football. Given Lyon would fail to qualify for continental competition this season, an increase in equity was needed: “He knew about this aspect at the time of the acquisition. He