Le Mans Promoted to Ligue 1 for First Time Since 2010 Following Bastia Abandonment
On Wednesday, Le Mans officially secured their promotion to Ligue 1 after the French league (LFP) awarded them a 2-0 victory in their season finale against Bastia, a match that was interrupted due to crowd disturbances.
Having last played in France’s top tier during the 2009/10 season, Le Mans faced a significant decline, having been relegated all the way down to the sixth tier in 2013 due to severe financial issues. The match against Bastia was halted in injury time when Le Mans was leading 2-0, as home fans started throwing flares onto the pitch, prompting the referee to stop the game.
As a result of this incident, Bastia was relegated to the third-tier National. The LFP confirmed on the same day that Le Mans’ win was “definitively confirmed,” which enabled them to finish the season in the second automatic promotion position, securing their ascent with a two-point margin over Saint-Etienne, while trailing champions Troyes by seven points.
In the upcoming playoffs, Saint-Etienne will challenge Rodez on Friday, with the winner set to face the team placed 16th in Ligue 1, which, at present, is Nice.
It is noteworthy that Le Mans is backed by Brazilian investment fund OutField, which includes notable minority shareholders such as Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic, and former Formula One driver Felipe Massa.
