Lyon stave off relegation after successful appeal
Last month, Lyon were relegated to the second-tier Ligue 2 by French football's financial watchdog, who had placed the club under budgetary restrictions in November.
American businesswoman Michele Kang then took over as club president from compatriot John Textor.
The FFF said Lyon would have to cut their wage bill and transfer budget for the upcoming campaign.
"Lyon would like to thank the appeal commission after it recognised the ambition of the new club management," the club said in a statement.
"Today's decision constitutes the first step of re-establishing trust in Lyon."
Two weeks ago, Textor said he would take a step back from the day-to-day running of the club.
The second-largest shareholder at the club behind Textor, Kang was already president of the Lyon women's team.
"I'm actually very proud of what we have accomplished to reach this decision, and I can honestly say that we gave everything we have," said Kang.
"This was really a collective mission and a goal to save the club... and continue its legacy," she added.
"We are going to do everything in our power to ensure that we're going to leave this club a little better than the way we found it."
Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for the Europa League and will be allowed to play in that competition after the successful appeal, but they had already agreed to pay UEFA a fine.
Textor took over as Lyon's majority owner in December 2022 from long-standing boss Jean-Michel Aulas, who had overseen unprecedented success at the French outfit.
Lyon won seven consecutive French titles between 2002 and 2008, under Aulas.
"Michele Kang has been able to provide, with courage, the guarantees needed to preserve the future of the club," Aulas said on social media.
"But the most difficult part is to come. A new period is underway, one of reconstruction."
"I will remain committed, alongside Michele Kang and all those who believe in the strength of Lyon's ambition," the 76-year-old Frenchman added.
Textor, 59, also holds stakes in Brazilian side Botafogo and Belgian club Molenbeek.
He sold his 43 per cent stake in Premier League side Crystal Palace in mid-June as he tried to balance the books at Lyon.
Lyon have reduced their salary bill with attacker Alexandre Lacazette and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes released.
They have sold Rayan Cherki to Manchester City and Maxence Caqueret to Como.
Textor said his Eagle group has also put €83 million (RM414 million) into the club.
Only five clubs have won Ligue 1 more often. Paris Saint-Germain hold the record with 13 titles.
Lyon began their pre-season on Monday. Their first game of the Ligue 1 season is a trip to Lens on the weekend of Aug 15-17. - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Trump administration issues plan to limit AI exports to China
The White House on Wednesday released proposals to restrict exports of American AI equipment and limit the spread of Chinese AI models as part of a sweeping plan to shape the rules governing the fast-moving technology. The 28-page AI Action Plan marks US President Donald Trump's administration's first comprehensive strategy on the topic and comes as national security hawks have raised concerns that superior American chips may reach China – including through third countries – and advance its AI and military development. Under the plan, the US Commerce Department will lead an effort to develop new export controls on chipmaking components to close 'loopholes' in current restrictions that now focus on major systems. The department will also lead efforts to increase the monitoring of exported US chip end users and to explore using new chip location verification features to keep them out of 'countries of concern' – a term often used to refer to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, among others. The plan also directs the Defence and Commerce departments to coordinate with allies on adopting US export controls and to prohibit American adversaries from being involved in their defence supply chains. 'Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology with the potential to transform the global economy and alter the balance of power in the world,' White House AI tsar David Sacks said in a written statement. 'To win the AI race, the US must lead in innovation, infrastructure, and global partnerships ... This Action Plan provides a road map for doing that,' he added. The Trump administration decision last week to allow American chipmaker Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China reinvigorated furious debate about how to extend the US technological lead without compromising national security. That came months after the administration revoked a rule put in place under former President Joe Biden that limited how much US AI computing capability certain countries could access through imported US chips. American AI companies face increased competition from such Chinese rivals as Hangzhou-based DeepSeek, which sent global shock waves earlier this year when it released powerful AI models built far more cheaply than many had thought possible. Trump has previously warned of China's potential to surpass the US in the race for AI dominance. Speaking about the White House plan at an AI summit on Wednesday, Trump said he wants to make the US an 'AI export powerhouse' while maintaining 'necessary protections for our national security'. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'will work to rapidly expand American AI exports of all kinds, from chips to software to data storage', he said, before signing executive orders to fast-track AI development and promote exports. Ryan Fedasiuk, a former technology policy advisor in the State Department's Office of China Coordination, said that taken together, the export control proposals 'thread a difficult needle' in the lead-up to US-China trade talks in Stockholm next week. 'They tighten technology controls without risking an existential blow to the provisional trade deal struck in London, and they focus on enforcement gaps rather than adding sweeping new restrictions,' he said. The real impact of the plan will depend 'entirely' on its execution, Fedasiuk added. 'Allied coordination is where the rubber meets the road. Export controls only work if they're multilateral, and we've seen too many cases where US restrictions just pushed business to Dutch or Japanese competitors.' The new administration blueprint also makes several recommendations focused on countering the spread of Chinese models. To ensure 'that free speech flourishes in the era of AI', the Commerce Department is to evaluate advanced Chinese AI models for alignment with Communist Party talking points and censorship practices. Along with the US State Department, Commerce will lead a campaign to 'vigorously advocate' for international AI governance approaches that 'counter Chinese influence' at diplomatic and standard-setting bodies. Too many existing efforts 'have advocated for burdensome regulations, vague 'codes of conduct' that promote cultural agendas that do not align with American values, or have been influenced by Chinese companies attempting to shape standards for facial recognition and surveillance', the plan said. The two departments will also lead a new initiative to share technology protection measures, including measures in basic research and higher education, with allies and partners. To promote the use of American AI technology rather than that of adversaries, the Commerce Department will gather industry proposals for 'full-stack AI export packages' – bundled systems that include AI hardware, software, and related services intended for export. In recent years, the US has pushed its European and Asian allies to stop exports of advanced chipmaking equipment to China. Wednesday's document carries a thinly veiled threat to allies, warning that failure to align with US export controls could trigger punitive trade measures through secondary tariffs. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
China proposes global AI cooperation body amid US tech rivalry
SHANGHAI: China said on Saturday it wanted to create an organisation to foster global cooperation on artificial intelligence, positioning itself as an alternative to the U.S. as the two vie for influence over the transformative technology. China wants to help coordinate global efforts to regulate fast-evolving AI technology and share the country's advances, Premier Li Qiang told the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday released an AI blueprint aiming to vastly expand U.S. AI exports to allies in a bid to maintain the American edge over China in the critical technology. Li did not name the United States but appeared to refer to Washington's efforts to stymie China's advances in AI, warning that the technology risked becoming the 'exclusive game' of a few countries and companies. China wants AI to be openly shared and for all countries and companies to have equal rights to use it, Li said, adding that Beijing was willing to share its development experience and products with other countries, particularly the 'Global South'. The Global South refers to developing, emerging or lower-income countries, mostly in the southern hemisphere. How to regulate AI's growing risks was another concern, Li said, adding that bottlenecks included an insufficient supply of AI chips and restrictions on talent exchange. 'Overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules,' he said. 'We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible.' SHANGHAI HEADQUARTERS The three-day Shanghai conference brings together industry leaders and policymakers at a time of escalating technological competition between China and the United States - the world's two largest economies - with AI emerging as a key battleground. Washington has imposed export restrictions on advanced technology to China, including the most high-end AI chips made by companies such as Nvidia and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns that the technology could enhance China's military capabilities. Despite these restrictions, China has continued making AI breakthroughs that have drawn close scrutiny from U.S. officials. China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu told a roundtable of representatives from over 30 countries, including Russia, South Africa, Qatar, South Korea and Germany, that China wanted the organisation to promote pragmatic cooperation in AI and was considering putting its headquarters in Shanghai. The foreign ministry released online an action plan for global AI governance, inviting governments, international organisations, enterprises and research institutions to work together and promote international exchanges including through a cross-border open source community. The government-sponsored AI conference typically attracts major industry players, government officials, researchers and investors. Saturday's speakers included Anne Bouverot, the French president's special envoy for AI, computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as 'the Godfather of AI', and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has in past years regularly appeared at the opening ceremony in person or by video, did not speak this year. Besides forums, the conference features exhibitions where companies demonstrate their latest innovations. This year, more than 800 companies are participating, showcasing more than 3,000 high-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots, according to organisers. The exhibition features predominantly Chinese companies, including tech giants Huawei and Alibaba and startups such as humanoid robot maker Unitree. Western participants include Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon. - Reuters
The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
Swimming-Excited Marchand relishing reduced schedule in pursuit of medley record
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Leon Marchand is hoping a scaled-back schedule will give him a shot at taking out Ryan Lochte's long-standing world record in the 200 metres individual medley when the world championships begin in Singapore on Sunday. The Frenchman was the standout performer in the pool at last year's Olympics, winning the 200 metres and 400 metres individual medley plus the 200 metres butterfly and 200 metres breaststroke in Paris, but will be swimming a reduced programme over the coming eight days of competition. Marchand will not participate in the butterfly or breaststroke events, leaving the 23-year-old better rested to potentially break Lochte's 14-year-old record. "I think this is a transition year for me so I wanted to have a lighter schedule than usual," Marchand told the media on Saturday. "I wanted to focus on the 200 IM and the 400 IM and the relays with the French team. "I'm really excited to do less than usual, just to see how far can I go, how fast can I go in the 200 IM. "I've always done the 200 IM as a race before, the same as the rest, so it'll be fun (to have) a lighter schedule. "I'm just not used to starting on the Wednesday instead of the first day, which is good because I can finally cheer for my teammates." Marchand won gold in the 200 metres and 400 metres IM events at the 2022 and 2023 world championships and is the current world record holder in the longer of the medley events. Lochte's world record in the 200 metres individual medley has stood since July 2011, with Marchand swimming just six-hundredths of a second slower than the American's 1 minute 54.00 second mark when he won Olympic gold last year. "I'm excited for the Worlds. I want to be close to my (personal bests) in every single one of my races," said Marchand. "Of course, I want to break world records in the next few years. I don't know when that's going to happen. I still have a lot to do in the swimming world." (Reporting by Travis Teo; Writing by Michael Church, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
