The Holnest company, controlled by Jean-Michel Aulas, former president of OL Groupe and minority shareholder, announced on Wednesday in a press release that it was filing a defamation complaint against Eagle Football and John Textor, current owner of Olympique Lyonnais. “The Holnest company (…) files a defamation suit against Eagle and John Textor (…), following remarks made by the latter during a press conference on August 29”, according to this press release. .
Jean-Michel Aulas accused of having “hidden bad news”
John Textor spoke to the media on Tuesday of an “erroneous assessment of OL’s real financial situation when the transaction was completed last December” accusing Jean-Michel Aulas of having “hid bad news”. “If I had known we would have these restrictions for this first transfer window, I would have asked to stop the transaction and restructure rather than give half a billion dollars in cash for the sellers,” Textor also confided during the interview. a press conference call.
“I am not happy with certain documents received in December and June concerning the warnings from the DNCG sent to OL on the subject in particular of the consequences on the absence from the European Cup for three consecutive years requiring a contribution of 150 million euros,” he said. Holnest “contests these allegations in the strongest possible terms,” says its press release, which details the exchanges between the two parties at the time of the sale.
Initiate several legal actions
“With these remarks, John Textor and Eagle Football seek – as they have done for more than a year – to evade the commitments to which they are nevertheless contractually bound to Holnest,” the statement said. “Consequently, the Holnest company was forced to initiate several legal actions to preserve its rights in the face of the repeated breaches of John Textor and Eagle Football”, continues the text.
OL is currently constrained in its transfer window by measures to control its payroll and transfer allowances decided by the DNCG, which rejected OL’s appeal in early July. Lyon must go back to the DNCG in October or November to reassess their situation. This procedure has already sparked tense exchanges between the club’s new management and its former boss, initially appointed executive chairman for three years after its takeover by the Eagle Football holding group, then dismissed from his post on May 5.
After three days of the championship and before the reception of PSG on Sunday evening, Olympique Lyonnais occupies 17th and penultimate place in Ligue 1 with only one point on the clock.