John Textor, former OL president, had negotiated the arrival of Matt Turner, guardian of Nottingham Forest, before leaving the presidency. In the face of a delicate financial situation, OL was forced to abandon this transfer, despite Textor’s initial optimism. The team even hired a lawyer to try to disengage from the agreement with Nottingham Forest, citing the club’s financial situation and restrictions imposed by the DNCG. Textor, for his part, refuted the criticisms of the DNCG, believing that the decision to demotion was unjust and motivated by protectionist interests. He claimed to have resigned for the sake of the club, after finding a lack of support from some leaders. He also recalled the financial commitment of Eagle Football Holdings shareholders to support OL.

OL recently strengthened with the arrival of several players, including Alonso Moreira and the return of Georges Mikautadze. Paulo Fonseca, the coach, expressed his desire to retain some key players while stressing the need to continue recruiting. Ruben Kluivert, a Dutch defender, is expected to arrive shortly, as his profile corresponds to Fonseca’s tactical system. The team made a friendly draw against the RWDM Brussels, but Fonseca stressed the lack of satisfaction with the team’s performance in the second half.

John Textor responded to DNCG’s criticism of OL’s demotion, denouncing a lack of transparency and judgement based on “personal feelings” rather than objective accounting criteria. He defended his decision to resign, claiming that he had acted for the good of the club and had kept his promises to the shareholders of Eagle Football Holdings. Textor insisted that demotion was a disproportionate punishment for the Lyon community and that he had anticipated this by ensuring that OL would not be relegated to Ligue 2. His statements should not ease the persistent tensions around his person in Lyon.

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