PSG women hit with nine-point sanction

The Paris Saint-Germain women's team were on Monday hit with a three-defeats-by-forfeit sanction by French football authorities for a licensing issue involving summer signing Florianne Jourde.

Following a complaint from Fleury, who lost 4-0 to PSG last month in the top-flight Premiere Ligue, the French Football Federation (FFF) sanctioned the club to a defeat by forfeit and extended it to cover their two previous matches – a 2-0 win over Le Havre and 1-0 victory against Strasbourg.

By effectively losing nine points, PSG drop from second to fifth place in the table.

The Parisians were penalised because Jourde, who arrived in July from Canadian side AS Laval, did not have an international transfer certificate (ITC) issued by FIFA, which is mandatory to obtain a licence when professional players change clubs.

In a statement, the club described the decision as "totally disproportionate" and announced their plans to appeal.

PSG said they acted "in good faith and with complete transparency, based on the information available to them", and pointed out that the FFF "had itself validated" the transfer "by issuing Florianne Jourde with a licence".

The 21-year-old Canadian was "duly eligible" for these three matches and this "simple administrative situation", according to the club, "has since been resolved without difficulty by FIFA".

PSG added they were the victims of "a clear injustice" and will "evidently appeal this decision".