The disciplinary committee of France’s professional football league (LFP) convened Wednesday evening to finalize decisions following the chaotic final minutes of Le Mans’ 2-0 away win at Bastia on the 34th matchday of Ligue 2.

With only seconds remaining in the match, referee Ruddy Buquet ordered players to the locker rooms to protect them from flares and fireworks launched from the stands. The game was never resumed, but the disciplinary body—after reviewing the incident—upheld the scoreline, which sends Le Mans up to Ligue 1 while Bastia drops to Ligue 3, the new professional third tier replacing the National starting next season.

Bastia avoids point deduction despite previous incidents

While Bastia escaped a point deduction—a sanction that had been under consideration—the club was not so fortunate with stadium closures. Two matches will be played behind closed doors, with an additional suspended closure. The decision comes despite Bastia’s prior disciplinary record, including a recent incident on December 5 when a flare was thrown onto the pitch during the match against Red Star, forcing an early abandonment of that game.

Sébastien Deneux, president of the LFP’s disciplinary committee, explained the reasoning: “Typically, a point deduction is applied when a match participant is struck by an object. In this case, the game was halted to protect the players from projectiles, but none were hit. Therefore, revoking the suspended closure was not justified.”