OFFICIAL: Former team of coach Zidane receives heavy penalty from FIFA

Club Girondins de Bordeaux has been imposed a ban on recruiting players for three consecutive transfer windows by FIFA, due to violations related to an incident that occurred in 2023.

While competing for promotion to the Nationale league, Girondins de Bordeaux is preparing for another battle, this time on the legal front. Banned from registering players by FIFA since March 27 due to unpaid transfer fees for Spanish midfielder Pedro Diaz from Sporting Gijon in 2023, with a three-year duration, the team led by Rio Mavuba is striving to have the penalty lifted.

Bordeaux's lawyer Matthieu Barandas shared with the newspaper Sud-Ouest: “We were required to pay transfer fees that were included in a restructuring plan approved by the commercial court. This plan allowed us not to pay the full amounts related to the transfer deals.”

To end the penalty, the club founded in 1920 intends to file two appeals. First to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, then another to the domestic judicial authority.

Bordeaux's lawyer stated: “We completely disagree with this legal reasoning, believing FIFA's assessment contradicts national regulations on collective procedures. These are mandatory regulations that cannot be overridden. We argue that FIFA cannot stand above the laws concerning these procedures.”

He also expressed optimism about the outcome of the legal process: “We are quite confident and believe we have solid legal grounds.”

Over the past two years, Bordeaux has been regarded as the club generating the most scandals in France.

In July 2024, the club declared bankruptcy after being relegated to play in the French third division for the 2024/25 season. The cause of Bordeaux's collapse stemmed from a severe financial crisis, as the club no longer had sufficient resources to sustain operations in the professional football environment.

In the 2021/22 season, Bordeaux competed in Ligue 1 but finished the campaign at the bottom of the table, thus relegating to Ligue 2. Subsequently, the club continued to participate in France's second division for two consecutive seasons, 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Founded in 1920, Bordeaux is one of the most traditional clubs in French football. Their most recent national championship title came in 2009, before the club continued to make its mark by reaching the Champions League quarter-finals the following season. Previously, Bordeaux also advanced to the UEFA Cup final in 1996, but had to accept runner-up status after losing to Bayern Munich.

Not only notable for its competitive achievements, Bordeaux is also known as one of the top talent development nurseries, having produced many renowned world football stars such as Bixente Lizarazu, Zinedine Zidane and Jules Kounde.