Colmar (AFP)

The former president of the Racing Club of Strasbourg, Patrick Proisy, tried again for transfers of football players tainted with irregularities at the turn of the 2000s, saw his sentence reduced Wednesday to six months in prison suspended by the court of appeal from Colmar.

The former president of the RCS (1997-2003) was sentenced in 2016 to 10 months suspended by the Strasbourg criminal court.

He had again appeared before the court in September, alongside several other defendants prosecuted for use of and complicity in forgery, abuse of corporate assets and complicity in the exercise of the activity of sports agent without a valid license.

On Wednesday, the court also erased the fine of 25,000 euros pronounced against him by the criminal court.

Released at first instance, Peter Griffiths, a former financial manager of a branch of IMG-McCormack, a management group that owned Racing between 1997 and 2003, was however convicted on appeal of forgery, use of forgery and d abuse of corporate property and sentenced to six months suspended prison sentence.

In this case, which concerns a dozen transfers made between January 1999 and November 2001, MM. Proisy and Griffiths will have to jointly reimburse more than 440,000 euros to the liquidator responsible for managing the assets of the RCS when the latter had been placed in compulsory liquidation in 2011.

At first instance, only Mr. Proisy had been ordered to reimburse this sum.

Judged for use and complicity in forgery, the ex-manager of the club (1998-2000) Claude Le Roy saw his fine of 15,000 euros confirmed. The current coach of Togo has shown "a certain financial and legal lightness, areas in which he had received no special training", notes the court in its judgment.

Re-tried for forgery and use of forgery, agent Nicolas Geiger saw his sentence reduced from 40,000 to 25,000 euros in fines.

As at first instance, another agent, Gilbert Sau, was acquitted.

During the appeal in September, the public prosecutor had notably requested ten months suspended prison sentence and 35,000 euros fine against Patrick Proisy and six months suspended sentence and 25,000 euros fine against Claude Le Roy.

In this case, false invoices would have allowed the British branch of IMG-McCormack and various intermediaries to earn commissions on player transfers, to the detriment of RCS.

The club was then plunged into a serious sports and financial slump. He had been demoted to L2 in 2001, after nine years in the elite.

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