‘Belgian football is too political’: Francs Borains and other clubs set to challenge non-relegation of U23 teams from the second tier | OneFootball

It was always unlikely that introducing the new format agreed upon for professional men’s football in Belgium would be a smooth process. As reported by Het Nieuwsblad, Francs Borains are just one of four/five sides set to legally challenge the new format. Their main gripe is with the agreement that there must always be at least four U23 sides in the second tier, which means that some would not be relegated. This would include a Genk side who are currently bottom of the table and should go down.

The involvement of the U23 sides in the second tier has been controversial since it was introduced a few seasons ago. Clearly, games played against those sides lack any sort of atmosphere and are not a great spectacle for fans. However, financially, the other sides have benefited as the Pro League clubs have put money into the league in order to include their second string sides in it. However, a quota system and the idea that some years they may not be relegated is clearly a step too far for some. Unless there is a U23 ready to come up, you could see a situation where the side that finishes above the U23 side goes down instead, because of the quota.

One extreme scenario would be if all four finished in the last places. While unlikely, that would mean the team who finish fifth bottom and not a U23 team could be relegated. Clearly, that would be a terrible thing to happen on a sporting level.

Georges-Louis Bouchez, owner of Francs Borains and the most vocal against the move, said the following: ‘How can you decide on a new competition format if there has not even been a study done to find out which formula generates the most income or attracts fans to the stadium? There was not even a debate about that. Belgian football is too political.”

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson