1992–93 French Division 1

Olympique de Marseille won Division 1 season 1992/1993 of the French Association Football League with 55 points but lost its title due to a bribery scandal. The second, Paris SG refused it, making it still unattributed.

Affaire VA-OM

1993 saw Olympique de Marseille reached both the very pinnacle and the very bottom of the European club game. A corruption scandal and a Canal+'s shining light for Paris Saint-Germain would threaten their hegemony. The European Cup was denied, but the glory would eventually come for Marseille. As the European Cup was renamed the Champions League in 1992–93, Marseille reached the Final for the second time in three years, but this time they prevailed. "Les Phocéens" won Group A and suddenly found themselves in the Final against Milan. Basile Boli hit home the winning goal as Marseille became the first French side to win a European trophy and the only to win the Champions League. Didier Deschamps and Fabien Barthez became the youngest captain and goalkeeper, respectively, to capture the title.^[1] Their fans greeted the triumph by chanting "A jamais les premiers" which referred to the fact that they won the first "Classico" against PSG in 1971. The city exploded with a joy shared across the nation but no sooner had the trophy been hoist aloft than the celebrations were brought to a halt.^[2]

A corruption scandal revolving around a match against Valenciennes emerged a few days before the European Final.^[3] Allegations of match fixing were levelled at them and their president Bernard Tapie. It is believed that Tapie bribed Valenciennes to lose so that Olympique de Marseille would win the French League earlier, giving them more time to prepare for the Champions League Final.^[4] Valenciennes players Christophe Robert, Jorge Burruchaga and Jacques Glassmann claimed that the Marseille midfielder Jean-Jacques Eydelie offered them ₣250,000 to "take the foot off of the gas" in a May 20 match against OM.^[5] Marseille was later stripped of their league title and relegated to Division 2 by the French Football Federation, while Bernard Tapie was forced to step down as its President. Marseille was not stripped of the Champions League, as the match in question was not in that competition, but lost the right to play in the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League.^[6] No winner was declared for the 1992–1993 season. The LFP allotted the title to Paris Saint-Germain but Canal + refused it. The TV chain feared the reactions of their subscribers in Provence and threatened to withdraw football completely if the title was allotted to PSG. Ultimately the LFP decided that the 1993 title would remained unattribuated. Canal + even refused letting the club participate in next year's UEFA Champions League after OM's exclusion by the UEFA.^[7]

Participating teams

Final table

(Victory:2 points, Draw:1 point, Defeat:0 points)

Promoted from Ligue 2, who will play in Division 1 season 1993/1994

• FC Martigues:Champion of Division 2, winner of Division 2 group A
• Angers SCO:Runner-up, winner of Division 2 group B
• AS Cannes:Winner of playoffs against Valenciennes FC

Top goalscorers

References