John Textor, president of Olympique Lyonnais, spoke to L’Equipe following the tensions revealed between Ligue 1 presidents, notably between him and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi (Paris Saint-Germain), during a meeting about Ligue 1 TV rights. He logically gives his position, with a certain amount of annoyance and a call for major decisions in the governance of French soccer.<
Textor “the decisions had already been made by a small group of people.”
“I’ve sat on many boards, and lively debates can take place, but I’ve never seen such an imbalance of power, where the outcome of the dialogue is a foregone conclusion. It was clear to me that the decisions had already been made by a small group of people, before the call began. (…)
How could we have been attacked so vigorously for supporting the League’s plan? This appeal has really revealed the need for immediate reform of the LFP’s governance. Those in positions of power, not just Nasser (al-Khelaïfi), didn’t even respect opposing viewpoints.
Textor “there’s no shame in following a good example.”
Being berated by “NAK” as knowing nothing was both comical and counterproductive. The governance of our league must change, immediately, as every Ligue 1 club should be represented on the board of directors (*). All conflicts of interest must be disclosed and mitigated. These are the rules of the best soccer league in the world, the Premier League, and there’s no shame in following a good example.
(…) We have too many chairmen and too many managers who feel that their careers would be better, personally, if they worked with ‘NAK’.”
Of course, Textor is angry, since he was obviously unable to express himself as he would have liked, nor to choose for the broadcasting of French soccer. We suspected he would have a response to this revelation. This is also an opportunity to reiterate his opinion: the direction of French soccer is harmful to it.
The Lyon manager may be right on some points, but we admit that it’s not our speciality and we’re always cautious about judging things we don’t take part in. We don’t have all the facts in 4 minutes of a meeting (which lasts over 2 hours).
So we remain cautious, with Textor having his own position to defend, even though he has clear tensions with certain managers, including Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. We need to let everyone have their say and keep a distance. Jean-Pierre Caillot, President of Reims, came to the defense of his PSG counterpart. Let’s hope, in any case, that all this unrest will lead to progress. It’s time to do something other than point fingers.
