Stéphane Richard arrives alone and late as OM hearing stalls at DNCG | OneFootball

The DNCG has deferred its ruling on Marseille, requesting fuller documentation and more coherent projections as austerity beckons.

According to L'Équipe, Stéphane Richard arrived around nine fifty on Tuesday for a nine thirty hearing at LFP headquarters, and he came alone. Interim president and former CFO Alban Juster joined by video, and Richard left on foot at 11:05.

The watchdog judged the presentation lacking in rigour, so instead of measures such as a wage-bill cap or transfer limits it chose to wait for further submissions. Richard officially starts on the third of July.

It wants a tighter, realistic budget and a clearer plan. It had already been struck by informal projections that envisaged OL being barred from Europe by UEFA in 2026-2027 and Marseille budgeting for the Champions League, even though OM nearly missed Europe in June.

OM’s strongest card was an absentee, owner Frank McCourt, whose standing with the body helped avert tougher action. He is weary of funding overspend and wants sales and capital gains, with three promised swiftly then more in January and June 2027.

The shareholder’s lieutenants must now convince. Richard and Juster are to supply the extra material, while new sporting director Gregory Lorenzi faces a bloated squad after loan returns. For high earners like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Geoffrey Kondogbia, McCourt prefers fees to terminations, and Medhi Benatia is lending his network.

Source: L'Équipe