AS Monaco Basket was declared to be in a state of payment cessation by the Monaco District Court this Wednesday, October 7. The Principality’s club now has 15 days to appeal, while the future of the professional team also depends on the awaited decision from the Paris Administrative Court regarding its return to National 1.

AS Monaco Basket is going through a new judicial stage. The Monaco District Court established, this Wednesday, the club’s state of payment cessation, with retroactive effect from July 1. The ruling, initially expected Tuesday, had been postponed by 24 hours.

The decision comes as the professional team remains without competition. After the refusal of the French Basketball Federation and then that of the CNOSF regarding a National 1 registration, the Roca Team is still waiting for a decision from the Paris Administrative Court on its emergency appeal.

The financial situation also remains at the center of the case. September salaries for about twenty employees have still not been paid. The court appointed a judge-commissioner as well as a trustee to establish the status of claims, their admissibility, nature and amount.

Among the sums involved are notably the 21 million euros owed to the National Financing Company, an organization presented as the Principality’s financial arm. The club’s debt had been estimated at 27.8 million euros by the court president during a hearing last Friday.

AS Monaco Basket wants to believe in restructuring

Following the court’s announcement, AS Monaco Basket reacted with a statement published this Wednesday. « Today is a sad day. Despite all efforts made, AS Monaco Basket has been placed in payment cessation. The club will now take a break, in the hope of finding a path toward restructuring and, one day, relaunching the project. »

The club also wanted to remind itself of the twelve years that have passed since the reconstruction of the Monégasque project. The Roca Team notably highlights its three French championship titles, four Leaders Cups, two French Cups and a Supercup, as well as its European journey.

In its statement, AS Monaco Basket also emphasizes the role of the Monégasque public. « And yet, the greatest achievement was never a trophy. It was you! », the club writes to the Roca Family.

The future of professional basketball remains uncertain. The club says it wants to one day return to the highest level and hopes to see the Roca Team compete at the Gaston Médecin hall. In the meantime, AS Monaco Basket indicates that « the future of Monégasque men’s basketball now rests in the hands of the ASM Association », whose first team competes in National 3.

The next 15 days will be decisive

The next step will be to determine the procedure to follow for the club. Judicial reorganization or judicial liquidation are among the possibilities raised following the work carried out on the claims.

AS Monaco Basket has 15 days to appeal the judgment. Master Xavier Le Cerf Galle, lawyer for the Roca Team, clarified: « The club has 15 days to appeal this judgment. This option will possibly be implemented if the Paris Administrative Court were to order in emergency the re-engagement in National 1 of the first team before the expiration of this deadline. »

A possible reinstatement to National 1 could thus change the rest of the proceedings. For now, AS Monaco Basket remains excluded from national championships after the rejection of its registration request by the French Basketball Federation, then by the CNOSF in mid-September.

Without the professional team’s return to competition and in the event of judicial liquidation, Monégasque men’s basketball would only be represented by the association. This structure currently competes in National 3, the fifth level of French basketball.

The current situation comes after several months of difficulties surrounding AS Monaco Basket’s professional project. The club had notably been excluded from Betclic Elite as part of the financial case related to Aleksej Fedoricsev, before a takeover project associated with former NBA player Jamal Mashburn failed to materialize.

The financial history of AS Monaco Basket also has a precedent. The club had already experienced a liquidation in 1991 for financial reasons. The return to professional sports subsequently required 23 years.

For the Roca Team, the next 15 days could therefore constitute a new decisive sequence. A possible decision from the Paris Administrative Court on the return to National 1 could notably weigh on the follow-up given to the Monégasque legal case.