Monaco win appeal over two-point penalty

The ambitious Ligue 1 side were initially hit with a points deduction because of an incident involving their supporters, but have won their appeal against the punishment

The French Football Federation (FFF) has announced its decision to overturn Monaco's two-point deduction for crowd trouble on matchday 37 of the 2012-13 campaign.

The Principality side were punished by the Professional Football League (LFP) for supporters' actions during the aftermath of the 2-1 victory over Le Mans in May, which occurred after Claudio Ranieri's men were officially crowned Ligue 2 champions.

The home supporters invaded the pitch after Monaco's win, with the referee being hit by a fan during the
post-match celebrations.

Monaco were consequently handed a two-point penalty plus a suspended sentence of one more point, while they were also sentenced to playing one game behind closed doors. Nevertheless, their appeal has proven to be successful as the FFF has now opted to overturn part of the initial punishment.

"The appeal committee of the FFF has decided to cancel the deduction of two points and the suspended sentence of one more point imposed by the LFP's disciplinary committee following Monaco's appeal," a statement on the FFF website reads.

"The FFF's appeal committee upholds the sentence of playing one game behind closed doors after the incidents that took place on matchday 37 of the 2012-13 Ligue 2 campaign, following the match between Monaco and Le Mans on May 17."

Monaco started the 2013-14 season with a 2-0 away win over Bordeaux at the weekend.