Football club starts the season 2 points down
More bad news for AS Monaco, as the disciplinary commission of the French Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has penalized the team for a pitch invasion and other incidents during the final home game of the 2012/13 season. Monaco must now play its first match at Stade Louis II behind closed doors, and starts the new season 2 points down. A 3rd penalty point is suspended.
The sports club is currently fighting another ruling by the LFP that requires teams playing in French Ligue 1 to have a head office in France. A request by AS Monaco for suspension of the order was recently dismissed by the French Conseil d'Etat, although the judicial system has still to review arguments about the legality of the new rules.
Hopefully the players' performance won't be affected by the administrative shenanigans, as training starts today. The team departs for a friendly match against Cascia in Italy on Thursday. Next week players travel to Austria where two games are planned, followed by a trip to the UK at the end of July, where they're expected to play Leicester and two other friendlies. The Red and Whites return at the beginning of August to a home game against Tottenham Hotspur, with the first game of the new season away to Bordeaux.
