Five huge clubs who were relegated for non-footballing reasons: Juventus, Rangers…
Seven-time French champions Lyon have just been relegated to Ligue 2 for financial reasons – and they’re not the first European giant to have been demoted for non-footballing reasons.
Their relegation following an audit by the French football financial watchdog is one of the stranger instances in world football in recent years, though it’s certainly not something that has never happened.
Here, we have looked into five teams that were relegated for non-footballing reasons.
Marseille
A powerhouse of French and European football alike, Marseille’s relegation came from trying to maintain those titles by illegal means.
The French club were on course for European silverware when they were caught out.
Hoping to be fresh for their final against AC Milan in 1992-93, Marseille decided to offer bribes to French side Valenciennes, who they faced six days prior to the final, to underperform in their league match so that their own players could be ready for the European final.
Some players accepted the bribes, but Jacques Glassman did not, and informed authorities, who forcibly relegated Marseille to the second tier of French football.
Bordeaux
Some tough years financially for Bordeaux saw them drop not only from Ligue 1, but down to the fourth tier of French football.
In 2021-22, they finished bottom of Ligue 1, and spent two seasons playing in the second tier in the country.
In their second, the issues were clear, as they finished mid-table, but their inability to pay off high debts meant they were plunged down two more divisions.
Steaua Bucharest
A story of one club becoming two saw complications for Steaua Bucharest. CSA Steaua, as they were first known, began as a section of the Romanian army.
In 1998, CSA Steaua Bucuresti split from their parent club, becoming purely a footballing entity.
Years later, in 2014, the military club lodged a complaint about the name of the new side, and CSA became just Steaua Bucuresti, having to give the original name to the army.
In 2017, the original club returned to football, starting in the fourth tier of Romanian football and called themselves FCSB.
Despite the original club’s own belief that they are the most successful in the country’s football history, they took credit for any silverware won by the new club.
Rangers
One of the most shocking relegations in football history, Scottish giants Rangers found themselves owing a lot of money a lot of places.
After years of debt not being paid to HMRC, Rangers were not allowed to pay off their administration using a company voluntary agreement, and therefore had to go into liquidation in 2012.
Other Scottish clubs refused to let essentially a new Rangers – after it was sold to a new company – take the previous registration in the Scottish Premiership.
So they could only apply for membership to the Scottish Football League, beginning in the fourth tier after an effective triple relegation.
Juventus
A long-term manipulation of referees by multiple clubs, with Juventus the biggest, was one of the biggest scandals in the footballing world, with them and other clubs ensuring favourable referees were assigned to their games to make decisions in their favour.
Juve had won the Serie A title in 2004-05, but were stripped of the accolade, handed bottom place the following season, and sent down to Serie B.
It was Juventus’ first-ever relegation, and saw the club lose a host of star players.
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