The 2009–10 season was the 77th season of competitive professional football in France.
The season began on 7 August 2009 for the Championnat National and Ligue 2 and on 8 August for Ligue 1 and the Championnat de France amateur. The season concluded on 14 May 2010 for Ligue 2, 15 May for Ligue 1, and 21 May for the Championnat National and the Championnat de France amateur.
News Supercup in Canada On 12 May, it was announced that the 2009 Trophée des Champions will be played, for the first time, on international soil at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. The match will contest the winners of the 2008–09 Coupe de France, Guingamp, and the 2008–09 Ligue 1 champions, Bordeaux, with the objective being to promote French professional football abroad.
Match ball sponsorship On 5 June, it was announced that German sportswear company Puma will become the official provider of match balls for the upcoming season after agreeing to a long term partnership with the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP).
Presidential departures On 17 June, Marseille announced that they were parting ways with longtime chairman Pape Diouf. Diouf had been chairman of the club for five years and was the only black chairman ever to preside over a Ligue 1 club. Jean-Claude Dassier was announced as his replacement.
On 7 July, Auxerre announced that Alain Dujon will become the club's new president. He replaces Jean-Claude Hamel, who had presided over the club for over 46 years.
On 10 September, Paris Saint-Germain announced that president Sébastien Bazin would step down from his role in order to supervise the club's surveillance council. He was replaced by Robin Leproux.
Television deal On 29 June, the LFP board of directors announced that France Télévisions will be the official provider of Coupe de la Ligue coverage for the next three seasons.
French football records On 9 August 2009, Bordeaux established a record for most consecutive league wins with 12, surpassing Lille, who won 11 consecutive matches in 1949, winning their last four games of the 1948–49 season and their first seven in the 1949–50 season. Bordeaux's streak began during the 2008–09 Ligue 1 season on 14 March 2009 following a 2–1 victory over Nice. The club broke the record on the opening match day of this season defeating Lens 4–1. The record lasted for 14 matches before coming to an end on 30 August following the club's 0–0 draw with Marseille.
On 31 October 2009, Grenoble set a record for most consecutive losses in French football following the club's 11th-straight league defeat, an 0–2 loss to Lille. The previous record of ten-straight defeats, held by Sète, had been intact since 1947. The losing streak came to an end the following week, on 7 November, following the club's 0–0 draw with Monaco.
DNCG rulings On 23 June, the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNC) ruled that Arles-Avignon would not be allowed to play in Ligue 2 following their promotion from the Championnat National, due to irregularities in the club's management. On 3 July, following an appeal, the DNCG reversed its decision, reinstating Arles' Ligue 2 status.
Following the DNCG's annual report on clubs, on 25 June it was announced that six clubs had been relegated from the National to lower divisions: AS Beauvais, SO Cassis Carnoux, CS Louhans-Cuiseaux, and FC Libourne Saint-Seurin were relegated to the Championnat de France Amateurs. Meanwhile, Besançon RC, US Luzenac, and FC Rouen, who were all recently promoted, were relegated to Championnat de France Amateurs 2, while Sète and Calais RUFC were relegated to the Division d'Honneur. All clubs relegated were allowed to appeal the decision.
Following an appeal from the aforementioned clubs, Rouen, Beauvais and Luzenac had their appeals successfully overturned, meaning they will remain in the Championnat National. Some clubs were, however, unsuccessful. For example, Sète's appeal was upheld relegating them to the Division d'Honneur; Stade Plabennecois will replace them in the Championnat National. Libourne Saint-Seurin, Besançon and Calais' appeals were also rejected by the DNCG, though all three clubs have decided to take their case to the CNOSF, the National Sporting Committee of France which governs sport in France. Both Calais and Besançon's rulings were determined on 23 July. The CNOSF determined that Besançon should be relegated to the CFA and not CFA 2, while Calais should respect and oblige the DNCG's ruling relegated them to CFA 2.
Libourne's ruling was determined on 27 July, when the CNOSF informed the club that they should honor the DNCG's ruling and suffer relegation to the CFA. Libourne's chairman Bernard Layda responded by announcing the club will file for bankruptcy, restructure the club and oblige the ruling. Besançon and Libournce are slated to be replaced by ES Fréjus and AS Moulins.
Both Louhans-Cuiseaux and Cassis Carnoux had their appeals heard by the DNCG on 9 July. On 10 July, the DNGC ruled that both Louhans-Cuiseaux and Cassis-Carnoux rulings had been overturned, meaning they will play in the Championnat National this season.
On 6 August, just three days before the start of the season, the CNSOF ruled that CFA 2 club Olympique Saumur would be allowed promotion to the CFA on the assumption that the club was ranked second behind Les Herbiers VF in terms of the promotion chart following a current CFA club's relegation by means of a federation ruling. With Besançon's relegation to the CFA, it has been determined that two groups will have an allocation of 20 clubs, while one group will have an allocation of 19 clubs. Due to the sudden circumstances, on 7 August the France Football Federation (FFF) devised a brand new schedule for the CFA. The FFF also announced that they had rejected the CNOSF's proposal for integrating Saumur into the CFA. Saumur responding by announcing their intent to appeal the judgment in Administrative Court.
Turmoil at 2010 FIFA World Cup On 19 June 2010, France international striker Nicolas Anelka was dismissed from the national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup after reportedly having a dispute, in which obscenities were passed with team manager Raymond Domenech during the team's 2–0 loss against Mexico. The FFF condemned the actions and, following a meeting with Anelka, Domenech and team captain Patrice Evra, the FFF agreed to send the player home. The following day, Evra engaged in a heated confrontation with team trainer Robert Duverne, with Duverne having to be restrained by Domenech. The resulting confrontation led to the players returning to the team bus and canceling practice. The team's managing director, Jean-Louis Valentin, announced his resignation from his position and the FFF the same day, stating he was "sickened and disgusted" by the actions of the team. The team, through Domenech, later released a statement criticizing the FFF for sending Anelka home based on reports from the media. The FFF responded to the statement by declaring the player's boycott "unacceptable" and apologizing to the world for the conduct of the players. The FFF also announced that following the World Cup, the Federal Council would convene to discuss the current state of the team.
Five players were identified as having been key to the embarrassing events at the World Cup – Nicolas Anelka, Patrice Evra, Franck Ribéry, Jérémy Toulalan and Eric Abidal – and all were summoned to a hearing before the FFF disciplinary committee on 17 August 2010. After the expulsion of Anelka and ensuing training strike, Evra and Ribéry were summoned for failing in their duties as captain and vice-captain respectively; Toulalan was seen as the originator of the statement read out by coach Domenech to the media; while Abidal was accused of refusing to play in the final group match. After the hearing, Anelka was banned from playing for France for 18 games, Evra was banned for five, Ribéry for three and Toulalan for one, while Abidal was not punished. Anelka dismissed the sanction as irrelevant, considering himself already retired from international football.
Promotion and relegation Teams promoted to 2009–10 Ligue 1 Champions: Lens Runners-up: Montpellier 3rd Place: Boulogne
Teams relegated from 2008–09 Ligue 1 18th Place: Caen 19th Place: Nantes 20th Place: Le Havre
Teams promoted to 2009–10 Ligue 2 Champions: Istres Runners-up: Laval 3rd Place: Arles-Avignon
Teams relegated from 2008–09 Ligue 2 18th Place: Amiens 19th Place: Reims 20th Place: Troyes
Teams promoted to 2009–10 Championnat National Champions, Groupe A: Besançon Champions, Groupe B: Hyères Champions, Groupe C: Luzenac Champions, Groupe D: Rouen 2nd Place, Groupe D: Plabennec
Teams relegated from Championnat National 2008–09 17th Place: Niort 18th Place: Calais 19th Place: Cherbourg 20th Place: L'Entente
Teams promoted to 2009–10 Championnat de France Amateur
Promoted from CFA 2 Champions, Groupe A: Marck Champions, Groupe B: Drancy Champions, Groupe C: Épinal Champions, Groupe D: Grenoble B 2nd Place, Groupe E: Le Pontet1 Champions, Groupe F: Toulouse Fontaines 2nd Place, Groupe G: Les Herbiers2 Champions, Groupe H: Carquefou 2nd Place, Groupe B : Ivry-sur-Seine 2nd Place, Groupe C : Amnéville 2nd Place, Groupe D : Bourg-Peronnas 2nd Place, Groupe H : Avranches
1Saint-Raphael finished as Champions, but won't participate in next season's CFA because the club will fuse with ES Fréjus to form a new club. As such, Le Pontet was allowed to take their promotion spot.
2Tours B finished as Champions, but won't participate in next season's CFA because the DNCG deemed the formation structure of the reserves inadequate. Les Herbiers were allowed to take their promotion spot.
Teams relegated from Championnat de France Amateurs 2008–09 16th Place, Groupe A: Vesoul 17th Place, Groupe A: Metz B 18th Place, Groupe A: Sainte-Geneviève 16th Place, Groupe B: Saint-Étienne B 17th Place, Groupe B: Saint-Priest 18th Place, Groupe B: AS Monaco B 16th Place, Groupe C: Châtellerault 17th Place, Groupe C: Bordelais 18th Place, Groupe C: Bergerac 16th Place, Groupe D: Red Star 17th Place, Groupe D: Guingamp B 18th Place, Groupe D: Vitré
Managerial changes
Ligue 1 TeamOutgoingMannerDateTableIncomingDateTableMarseille Eric GeretsResigned12 May 2009Off-season Didier Deschamps1 July 2009N/AParis Saint-Germain Paul Le GuenContract Expiration30 June 2009Off-season Antoine Kombouaré1 July 2009N/ANice Frédéric AntonettiContract Expiration30 June 2009Off-season Didier Ollé-Nicolle1 July 2009 N/AMonaco Ricardo GomesContract Expiration30 June 2009Off-season Guy Lacombe1 July 2009N/AValenciennes Antoine KombouaréMoved to Paris Saint-Germain30 June 2009Off-season Philippe Montanier1 July 2009N/ARennes Guy LacombeMove to Monaco30 June 2009Off-season Frédéric Antonetti1 July 2009N/ALe Mans Arnaud CormierMutual consent30 June 2009Off-season Paulo Duarte1 July 2009N/ABoulogne Philippe MontanierMoved to Valenciennes30 June 2009Off-season Laurent Guyot1 July 2009N/AMontpellier Rolland CourbisMutual consent30 June 2009Off-season René Girard1 July 2009N/A
In season TeamOutgoingMannerDateTableIncomingDateTableLe Mans Paulo DuarteSacked10 December 200919th Arnaud Cormier10 December 200919thSaint-Étienne Alain PerrinSacked15 December 200918th Christophe Galtier15 December 200918thNice Didier Ollé-NicolleSacked9 March 201017th Eric Roy9 March 201017th
Ligue 2 TeamOutgoingMannerDateTableIncomingDateTableBastia Bernard CasoniContract Expiration30 June 2009Off-season Philippe Anziani1 July 2009N/AClermont Didier Ollé-NicoleJoined Nice30 June 2009Off-season Michel Der Zakarian1 July 2009N/ALe Havre Frédéric HantzResigned30 June 2009Off-season Cédric Daury1 July 2009N/ANantes Elie BaupMutual consent30 June 2009Off-season Gernot Rohr1 July 2009N/AStrasbourg Jean-Marc FurlanSacked3 June 2009Off-season Gilbert Gress1 July 2009N/ADijon Faruk HadžibegićSacked20 June 2009Off-season Patrice Carteron1 July 2009N/A
In season