‘We should aim for something other than being the Premier League’s B league’ – RC Lens owner Joseph Oughourlian blasts ‘poorly managed’ Ligue 1’s governing body

‘We should aim for something other than being the Premier League’s B league’ – RC Lens owner Joseph Oughourlian blasts ‘poorly managed’ Ligue 1’s governing body RC Lens president and owner Joseph Oughourlian has given a wide-ranging interview to  L’Equipe  to review  Les Sang et Or’s  exceptional Ligue 1 season. Lens gave PSG a title race and won their maiden Coupe de France title. Next season, the Artois side will be back in the Champions League with German head coach Dino Toppmöller at the helm, with Pierre Sage having departed for Crystal Palace. Oughourlian has said that Lens have been approached by a “ major ” Premier League side, presumably to join a multi-club ownership scheme, like BlueCo-owned Chelsea did with Strasbourg. The 54-year-old has rejected the approach, saying that such a deal would have betrayed Lens’ DNA. “ We’re France, World Cup semi-finalists, the country that produces the most players in the world; we should aim for something other than being the Premier League’s B league.”  Oughourlian has been one of the more prominent figures in French football to openly disagree with the management of Ligue de Football Professionnel – Ligue 1’s governing body – and its president, former Marseille executive Vincent Labrune. “ The league is extremely poorly managed “, Oughourlian said. The RC Lens owner also evoked the reasons why he decided to step down from the LFP’s board. “ I can’t be on a board that rubber-stamps decisions that make absolutely no sense”,  citing LFP’s controversial decision to postpone Lens’ home game against league leaders PSG in a title race. “ I have nothing to do with a league that’s shooting itself in the foot for who knows what. If you don’t respect yourselves, if you spend your time criticizing your own channel and do nothing for your product, you shouldn’t expect others to value it.” GFFN | Bastien Cheval