1992–93 French Division 1

Olympique de Marseille won the 1992–93 Division 1 season of the French Association Football League with 55 points but lost its title due to a bribery scandal. The club that finished second, Paris Saint Germain refused it, making it unattributed.

Division 1
Season1992–93
Championsunattributed
RelegatedValenciennes
Toulon
Nîmes
Champions LeagueMonaco
Cup Winners' CupParis Saint-Germain
UEFA CupBordeaux
Nantes
Auxerre
Matches played380
Goals scored887 (2.33 per match)
Top goalscorerAlen Bokšić
(23 goals)

Affaire VA-OM

In 1993 Olympique de Marseille reached both the very pinnacle and the very bottom of the European club game. A corruption scandal and a Canal+'s shining light for Paris Saint-Germain would threaten their hegemony. The European Cup was denied, but the glory would eventually come for Marseille. As the European Cup was renamed the Champions League in 1992–93, Marseille reached the final for the second time in three years, but this time they prevailed. Marseille won Group A and suddenly found themselves in the final against Milan. Basile Boli hit home the winning goal as Marseille became the first French side to win a European trophy and the only to win the Champions League. Didier Deschamps and Fabien Barthez became the youngest captain and goalkeeper, respectively, to capture the title.[1] Their fans greeted the triumph by chanting "A jamais les premiers" because they won the first "Classico" against PSG in 1971. The city exploded with a joy shared across the nation but no sooner had the trophy been hoist aloft than the celebrations were brought to a halt.[2]

A corruption scandal revolving around a match against Valenciennes emerged a few days before the Champions League final.[3] Allegations of match fixing were levelled at them and their president Bernard Tapie. It is believed that Tapie bribed Valenciennes to lose so that Olympique de Marseille would win the French League earlier, giving them more time to prepare for the Champions League Final.[4] Valenciennes players Christophe Robert, Jorge Burruchaga and Jacques Glassmann claimed that the Marseille midfielder Jean-Jacques Eydelie offered them ₣250,000 to "take the foot off of the gas" in a May 20 match against Marseille.[5] Marseille was later stripped of their league title and relegated to Division 2 by the French Football Federation, while Bernard Tapie was forced to step down as its president. Marseille was not stripped of the Champions League, as the match in question was not in the competition, but lost the right of title-defense in the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League,[6] as well as regular reigning European champions match in 1993 Intercontinental Cup and 1993 European Super Cup.

No winner was declared for the 1992–1993 season. The LFP allotted the title to Paris Saint-Germain but Canal + refused it. The TV chain feared the reactions of their subscribers in Provence and threatened to withdraw football completely if the title was allotted to PSG. Ultimately the LFP decided that the 1993 title would remain unattributed. Canal+ refused letting the club participate in the following season's Champions League after Marseille's exclusion by the UEFA.[7]

Participating teams
Location of teams in 1992–93 Division 1

Final table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Marseille 38 23 9 6 72 36 +36 55 Banned from Champions League[lower-alpha 1]
2 Paris Saint-Germain 38 20 11 7 61 29 +32 51 Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 2]
3 Monaco 38 21 9 8 56 29 +27 51 Qualification to Champions League first round
4 Bordeaux 38 18 12 8 42 25 +17 48 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
5 Nantes 38 17 11 10 54 39 +15 45
6 Auxerre 38 18 7 13 57 44 +13 43
7 Saint-Étienne 38 13 17 8 34 26 +8 43
8 Strasbourg 38 12 16 10 58 57 +1 40
9 Lens 38 12 16 10 36 41 −5 40
10 Montpellier 38 12 12 14 36 41 −5 36
11 Caen 38 13 9 16 55 54 +1 35
12 Metz 38 11 13 14 44 45 −1 35
13 Toulouse 38 9 16 13 36 45 −9 34
14 Lyon 38 9 15 14 40 45 −5 33
15 Le Havre 38 11 11 16 42 53 −11 33
16 Sochaux 38 11 10 17 33 50 −17 32
17 Lille 38 7 16 15 26 48 −22 30
18 Valenciennes (R) 38 9 11 18 42 57 −15 29 Relegated to French Division 2
19 Toulon (R) 38 6 13 19 31 57 −26 25 Administratively relegated to Championnat National[lower-alpha 3]
20 Nîmes (R) 38 3 16 19 32 66 −34 22 Relegated to French Division 2
Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Victory: 2 points, Draw: 1 point, Defeat: 0 points
(R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Marseille were stripped of the title and barred from 1993–94 UEFA Champions League due to bribery scandal. Retained league status.
  2. Paris Saint-Germain qualified for the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup as winners of the 1992–93 Coupe de France.
  3. Toulon was administratively relegated to Championnat National due to financial difficulties.

Promoted from 1992–93 French Division 2, who will play in 1993–94 French Division 1

  • FC Martigues: Champions of Division 2, winner of Division 2 group A
  • Angers SCO: Runners-up, winners of Division 2 group B
  • AS Cannes: Winners of playoffs against Valenciennes

Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club Goals[8]
1 Alen Bokšić Marseille 23
2 Xavier Gravelaine Caen 20
3 Jürgen Klinsmann Monaco 19
4 Rudi Völler Marseille 18
5 Joël Tiéhi Le Havre 14
George Weah Paris Saint-Germain
7 Nicolas Ouédec Nantes 13
Bernard Ferrer Toulouse
9 Franck Sauzée Marseille 12
Youri Djorkaeff Monaco
Franck Leboeuf Strasbourg

See also

References
  1. "1992/93: French first for Marseille". UEFA. 26 May 1993. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  2. "France's passion play". FIFA. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
  3. "Tapie Directly Implicated As Marseille Trial Opens". International Herald Tribune. 14 March 1995. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  4. "Scandal leaves a stain on the white shirt of Marseille". The Independent. 13 July 1993. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  5. "From Glory to Disgrace: Soccer Saga Grips Marseille". The New York Times. 12 July 1993. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  6. "Marseille: the French exception". FIFA. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  7. Le PSG est vice-champion d'un championnat sans champion suite au déclassement de l'Olympique de Marseille (Affaire VA-OM). Canal+ a refusé le titre de champion pour le PSG car la chaîne cryptée ne voulait pas se fâcher avec ses abonnés de province. On lira sur cette affaire, Jean-François Pérès et Daniel Riolo, OM-PSG, PSG-OM. Les meilleurs ennemis, enquête sur une rivalité, Paris, Mango Sport, 2003, p. 131–133: "Dans cette affaire, le PSG va plutôt choisir l'« intérêt supérieur de Canal+ » et s'obstiner dans son refus."
  8. Football: D1 le classement des buteurs SAISON 1992-93
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.