The French Basketball Federation have excluded reigning French league champions Monaco from next season's competitions, a shocking decision that puts the club's future on the line amid a crippling financial crisis.
According to the Federation, the appeals chamber rejected Monaco's bid to remain in the French first division. The ban also covers any of the LNB leagues, including the second division.
Survival now hinges on a single option: a final appeal before the French National Olympic and Sports Committee. The club are still weighing it up given the complexities of their current financial situation.
Monaco had appealed the initial decision on 20 July, and the appeals chamber granted them until 31 July to submit the required documents. They missed the deadline, and the exclusion was confirmed.
Winning the domestic title counted for little. Severe financial problems forced Monaco out of the EuroLeague and back into the EuroCup, the second continental competition, and stripped the club of most of its prominent stars, among them Mike James, Alpha Diallo and Elie Okobo.
Owned by Russian businessman Alexey Fedorychev, the team copped multiple financial penalties last season for failing to pay players' and staff salaries, along with a ban on signings. That prompted the principality of Monaco to step in directly to run the team and prevent its complete collapse.
The crisis peaked when the stars, led by Mike James, who moved to Dubai Basketball, distanced themselves from the club over the past two and a half months in protest at not receiving their financial dues. James then returned for the fifth and final game of the league finals, where Monaco were crowned champions at the expense of Paris Saint-Germain.