1992–93 French Division 1 Explained

Competition:Division 1
Season:1992–93
Dates:8 August 1992 – 2 June 1993
Winners:unattributed
Relegated:Valenciennes
Toulon
Nîmes
Continentalcup1:Champions League
Continentalcup2:Cup Winners' Cup
Continentalcup3:UEFA Cup
Continentalcup3 Qualifiers:Bordeaux
Nantes
Auxerre
League Topscorer:Alen Bokšić
(23 goals)
Matches:380
Total Goals:887
Prevseason:1991–92
Nextseason:1993–94

The 1992–93 Division 1 season was the 55th since its establishment. Marseille finished in first with 53 points, but were stripped of their title due to a bribery scandal. Paris Saint-Germain, who had finished second, refused to accept the title, resulting in no team being crowned champions for the season.

Affaire VA-OM

See main article: French football bribery scandal. The European Cup was renamed the Champions League in 1992–93, and Marseille reached the final for the second time in three years. They defeated Milan to become the first French side to win a European trophy and the only one to win the Champions League. Didier Deschamps and Fabien Barthez became the youngest captain and goalkeeper, respectively, to capture the title.[1]

A corruption scandal involving a league match against Valenciennes emerged a few days before the Champions League final.[2] It was alleged that club president Bernard Tapie had 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.[3] Valenciennes players Christophe Robert, Jorge Burruchaga and Jacques Glassmann claimed that Marseille midfielder Jean-Jacques Eydelie offered them 250,000 to "take the foot off of the gas" in the May 20 match.[4] Marseille were later stripped of their league title and relegated to Division 2 by the French Football Federation, while Tapie was forced to step down as the club's president. Marseille were not stripped of the Champions League, as the match in question was not in the competition, but were excluded from the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League,[5] as well as regular reigning European champions match in 1993 Intercontinental Cup and 1993 European Super Cup.

No winner was declared for the 1992–1993 season. The LFP allotted the title to Paris Saint-Germain but owners Canal+ refused it. The TV chain feared the reactions of their subscribers in Provence and threatened to withdraw from football completely if the title was awarded to PSG. Ultimately the LFP decided that the 1993 title would remain unattributed. Canal+ refused to allow the club to participate in the following season's Champions League after Marseille's exclusion by UEFA.[6]

Participating teams

League table

Promoted from 1992–93 French Division 2, who will play in 1993–94 French Division 1

Relegation play-offs

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Top goalscorers

RankPlayerClubGoals[7]
1 Alen BokšićMarseille23
2 Xavier GravelaineCaen20
3 Jürgen KlinsmannMonaco19
4 Rudi VöllerMarseille18
5 Joël TiéhiLe Havre14
George WeahParis Saint-Germain
7 Nicolas OuédecNantes13
Bernard FerrerToulouse
9 Franck SauzéeMarseille12
Youri DjorkaeffMonaco
Franck LeboeufStrasbourg

Notes and References

  1. News: 1992/93: French first for Marseille . . 26 May 1993 . 7 December 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070102183853/http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/history/Season%3D1992/intro.html . 2 January 2007 .
  2. News: Tapie Directly Implicated As Marseille Trial Opens. International Herald Tribune. 14 March 1995. 1 February 2011.
  3. News: Scandal leaves a stain on the white shirt of Marseille. The Independent. 13 July 1993. 28 October 2009.
  4. News: From Glory to Disgrace: Soccer Saga Grips Marseille. The New York Times. 12 July 1993. 1 February 2011.
  5. News: Marseille: the French exception. https://web.archive.org/web/20090720115108/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/clubs/club=33192/index.html. dead. July 20, 2009. FIFA. 13 August 2008. 24 April 2010.
  6. Le PSG est vice-champion d'un championnat sans champion suite au déclassement de l'Olympique de Marseille (Affaire VA-OM). Canal+ a refusé le titre de champion pour le PSG car la chaîne cryptée ne voulait pas se fâcher avec ses abonnés de province. On lira sur cette affaire, Jean-François Pérès et Daniel Riolo, OM-PSG, PSG-OM. Les meilleurs ennemis, enquête sur une rivalité, Paris, Mango Sport, 2003, p. 131–133: "Dans cette affaire, le PSG va plutôt choisir l'« intérêt supérieur de Canal+ » et s'obstiner dans son refus."
  7. https://www.deux-zero.com/ligue-1/buteurs-epreuve/edition/1992-1993 Division 1 - Saison 1992-1993 - Classement des buteurs