Le Mans promoted to Ligue 1 as Bastia relegated to Ligue 3
The LFP disciplinary committee confirmed on Wednesday evening Le Mans’ 2-0 victory at Bastia, securing their promotion to Ligue 1. In response to the pitch invasions and pyrotechnic incidents in the Stade Armand-Cesari, the Corsican club has been handed two enforced empty-stadium matches and one suspended closure.
The disciplinary body of France’s professional football league met this past Wednesday to ratify the outcome of last Saturday’s 34th round Ligue 2 clash between Bastia and Le Mans. With just seconds left on the clock, referee Ruddy Buquet halted the game and sent players to the dressing rooms after fireworks and smoke bombs rained down from the stands.
Bastia avoids point deduction
Alongside the two immediate stadium closures, Bastia received one suspended closure; however, a point deduction was avoided. The club had been on probation following crowd trouble earlier in the season. On December 5, during a match against Red Star, the game was abandoned after a smoke bomb landed on the pitch, prompting a points deduction threat at the time.
«Typically, a point is deducted when a player or match official is directly impacted by an incident,» explained Sébastien Deneux, president of the LFP’s disciplinary committee. «That was not the case in Bastia-Le Mans. Therefore, the suspended closure remained in place, and no further sanction was imposed.»
