Lens will be automatically relegated from Ligue 1 at the end of the season, regardless of their final position, a French court has ruled.
Lens promotion from Ligue 2 had been subject to an investigation over financial irregularities prior to the start of the season, before the French Football Federation granted the club the right to compete in France’s top division.
That decision however, was appealed by FC Sochaux, who were relegated from Ligue 1 at the end of last season, and a tribunal has now decided that Lens did not meet the conditions of promotion required for a place in Ligue 1.
As it stands Lens would be relegated from Ligue 1 anyway, the club currently lie second from bottom, two points from safety. For their part, Sochaux are currently fifth in Ligue 2, just a point off the automatic promotion places.
GloboSport 