Michele Kang takes over as president of French soccer team Lyon as John Textor resigns
American businesswoman Michele Kang has taken over as president of seven-time French champion Lyon after John Textor resigned following the club s relegation over financial irregularities The South Korea-born Kang is also majority owner of the Lyon s women s crew OL Lyonnes and has been on Lyon s board of directors since Lyon reported in a comment that Kang will play an ongoing role in leading the club s appeal against the relegation handed down last Tuesday by the French league s soccer watchdog known as DNCG The event is expected to be heard within the next week That ruling could also decide whether Crystal Palace will be allowed to play in next season s Europa League which Lyon also qualified for Textor also held a stake in Palace which he has agreed to sell to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and UEFA has rules against clubs with the same owner playing the same competition Lyon added that Textor has also resigned from the board of directors He became Lyon president three years ago taking over from longstanding incumbent Jean-Michel Aulas who sold to Textor s Eagle Football Holdings after years in charge Congratulations to Michele Kang on her appointment as head of OL Lyon This club deserves the best ambition passion and loyalty Aulas posted on X I will remain as consistently fully committed to OL The -year-old Kang will be supported in her role by Michael Gerlinger the general manager of Eagle Football Holdings A highly respected figure in European football administration Michael brings over two decades of experience in governance regulatory affairs and sports operations Lyon announced in its report Why did Lyon get relegated Lyon s run of Ligue titles from - made it the powerhouse of French soccer Since Paris Saint-Germain took over at the top fortunes have steadily dipped for Lyon The decision to relegate the club followed an audit of its finances by the DNCG with Lyon s current debt estimated at million euros million The DNCG had already provisionally relegated Lyon to Ligue in November with the club reporting at the time that it had more than million euros million of debt A transfer ban was also imposed in the January transfer window News of Lyon s relegations was met by dismay from Lyon fans with one historic supporters group The Bad Gones leading calls for Textor s immediate resignation The club shop was tagged with a blunt message urging him to go A Champions League finalist five years ago Lyon narrowly lost to Manchester United in the Europa League quarterfinals this season and missed out on a cash windfall when it failed to qualify for next season s Champions League after finishing sixth in Ligue Three weeks ago Lyon received a much-needed cash injection by selling coveted playmaker Rayan Cherki to Manchester City for million euros while high earners like forward Alexandre Lacazette left the club But it wasn t enough to convince the DNCG that Lyon s books were in order a task which now falls to Kang Ligue resumes in mid-August with Lyon scheduled to play at Lens if it wins the appeal More about Michele Kang Forbes estimates Kang s worth at billion Kang assumed majority ownership of Lyon one year after taking over the Washington Spirit women s crew in when average gates were around They are now around She also heads Kynisca Sports International a women-led multi-team global sports organization Last November she pledged million to U S Soccer over five years for women and girls the largest single commitment specifically for women s and girl s programs in the federation s history As well as her donation to U S Soccer in August her Kynisca Sports organization set up a -million million global resources fund to help improve the wellbeing and performance of elite female athletes Lyon s women s squad a record eight-time Champions League winner will enjoy a new female-specific training campus when it opens in July The women s band will also share the Groupama Stadium with the men s side Last season s women s Champions League semfinal against rival PSG attracted spectators AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source