Oversight could see OGC Nice and Saint-Étienne deprived of international players for Ligue 1 relegation play-off | OneFootball

Due to OGC Nice’s participation in the final of the Coupe de France, the two-legged relegation play-off between Le Gym and AS Saint-Étienne has been postponed. Nice will face RC Lens in the cup final on Friday, before then facing ASSE in Saint-Étienne on Tuesday and then again in Nice on Friday.

However, before that is a crucial date. On 25th May, the day before the first leg, FIFA obliges clubs to release their players for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. It is possible to request an exemption, which, of course, has been obtained for the UEFA Champions League final. The LFP requested the same, as per a report from L’Équipe, however the request has been rejected by FIFA. 

As a result, both Nice and Saint-Étienne will have to negotiate with the respective nations of each player called up for the World Cup in order to retain them. Nice could lose Ali Abdi (Tunisia), Elye Wahi (Ivory Coast), Yehvann Diouf (Senegal), Antoine Mendy (Senegal), Hicham Boudaoui (Algeria), Kojo Peprah Oppong (Ghana), Salis Abdul Samed (Ghana), Moise Bombito (Canada), and Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt). 

Les Verts, meanwhile, could lose Ben Old (New Zealand), Augustine Boakye (Ghana), and Ebenezer Annan (Ghana). Negotiations with the federations of those nations will now have to take place.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle