Paris (AFP)

The Council of State rejected Friday the new appeal in summary procedure of the football club of Amiens, which acted its relegation in Ligue 2, saying itself "mobilized" for the next season and "pending the decision on the merits "of the highest administrative jurisdiction.

"The judge in chambers did not hear our arguments and I sincerely regret it. I am convinced that the Council of State, in its collegial formation, will give us reason in the context of a substantive examination of our requests" which will take long months, reacted in a press release Bernard Joannin, the president of the club from Amiens.

"In the meantime, the best answer is on the ground. The Amiens SC is in working order to form a team driven by the thirst for winning," he continued.

The Picardy group contested its descent into Ligue 2, decided by a League Administrative Council (LFP) on April 30. At the time of the stoppage, she was 19th, four points behind the Nîmes dam and ten games to go.

A first decision of the Council of State suspended his relegation, as well as that of Toulouse, last in the ranking, by enjoining the authorities to re-examine the format of Ligue 1.

But a new round, both in the League and the Federation, rejected the hypothesis of a Championship extended to 22 teams that would have allowed the two clubs to be maintained.

If the TFC demoted after an unfavorable vote by the Federal Assembly of the FFF on June 26, the CSA again brought the case to the highest administrative court, pointing to a re-examination " biased "by the LFP.

"The plea alleging that the contested decisions were vitiated by irregularity is not accompanied by sufficient precision to assess its merits", wrote the judge in his order.

He also ordered the club to pay the total sum of 6,000 euros in court costs to the LFP and FFF.

This order immediately closes the legal proceedings brought following the cessation of competitions in the face of the pandemic. Whether it was the decision to stop, to freeze the classification, or to go up and down, the State Council ruled in favor of the LFP and the FFF.

There are still appeals to the merits, which take several months. This concerns in particular Amiens, who could claim compensation.

A study by the KPMG firm estimated the losses of the Picard club, in the event of relegation, between 44 and 50 million euros.

Amiens resumes L2 on August 22 against Nancy.

© 2020 AFP