French National Basketball League Punishes 3 Clubs Due To Financial Misbehavior

The French National Basketball League (LNB) announced on Wednesday sanctions against three of its Pro B clubs -- Roanne, Antibes and Aix-Maurienne -- following "various breaches of financial and accounting rules," according to SPORT 365. As in other sports, the LNB regulates the finances of its clubs to "avoid problems leading to bankruptcy." Roanne was punished with a fine of €20,000 ($24,985) and the removal of a victory for “presenting unreliable and false numbers” and for “irregular or fraudulent accounting and unrecorded or misreported transactions.” Antibes was penalized with a removal of a league victory for “discrepancies between the provisional budget and closed accounts.” For its part, Aix-Maurienne was penalized with a removal of two league victories for “irregular or fraudulent accounting and unrecorded or misreported transactions.” These sanctions may be appealed before the Appeals Chamber of the French Basketball Federation (SPORT 365, 11/5).