December 2 – Belgian club Mouscron have been slapped with a transfer ban by the Belgian FA (KBVB) because of unpaid salaries to both the technical staff and players.
Club president Patrick Declerck has promised that salaries will be paid in the next few days, but those reassurances didn’t prevent the KBVB from banning the club from the transfer market in winter.
Club captain Christophe Lepoint however explained that his chairman had said Lille still owed the club €2 million, which had led to the current situation.
The club – owned by Bordeaux’s Gérard Lopez, former owner of Lille – has long struggled financially. Last summer, another transfer ban was lifted. From 2016-2021, the club has every season failed to secure a pro license from the KBVB, only getting the club granted on appeal. The Walloon outfit has also caused concern in Belgian football with its links to Israeli player agent Pini Zahavi.
Last season, Mouscron were relegated to the second division after defeat to Cercle Brugge on the last day of the 2020-20 campaign. On Sunday, they play league leader Westerlo.
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