Fabien Barthez's Luzenac AP denied entry into Ligue 2 after promotion, relegated to seventh tier

Former France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez (R) with Luzenac Ariege Pyrenees (LAP) football club president Jerome Ducros.

The residents from the small village of Luzenac Ariege Pyrenees were heart-broken after their club were denied entry into France’s second division Ligue 2 in spite of gaining promotion last season.

And that’s not all. Even though they finished second in the National Championship, they are not even allowed to take part in the same division, and have instead been sent to the amateur seventh tier of French football.

With this move, the club will only be fielding reserves in the new season.

Luzenac denied Ligue 2 entry because of small stadium

The main reason behind the decision was because their stadium Stade de Paul Fedou is too small.

The ruling last month said, “The club does not have a ground which conforms to the required safety standards.”

The ground they play their games at has only one stand with a capacity of 400, while the stadium nearby was also deemed to be too small.

What is worth noting is that the village’s population is only 650, so a bigger stand was never a necessity.

Barthez tried to keep the project going

Fabian Barthez, the former France and Manchester United goalkeeper, is an honourary President, and he met with the French Football Federation to resolve the issue. But he and Jerome Ducros, the club’s owner, couldn’t find a way to bring the club back into the professional league.

“The refusal to accept Luzenac into the National brings an end to our project,” Barthez said.

“We can not accept residing in CFA2 (the fifth division) with players who had earned their place in Ligue 2.

“We were given no promises of an automatic rise next season either. For us, Jerome and me, it's over, the story ends here.”

Players will now be looking for employment: Dieuze

35-year-old Luzenac player Nicholas Dieuze was shocked at what was going on. He is a seasoned professional who has played more than 150 games for Ligue 1 club Toulouse.

“Who would have thought that five months after our promotion to Ligue 2, we'd be saying goodbye to each other in a car park?” he said.

“I feel a lot of sadness about what's been done over recent years. They're sending us to DHR (Division d'Honneur Regionale) with a great kick up the bum. In two weeks, we'll no longer speak about Luzenac.”

“The players, like many people in France, will go down to the DOLE (Department of Labour and Employment) office.”