PSG: A points deduction, recruitment woes and a season slipping away
PSG’s clean sheets offer hope, but a nine-point sanction and a widening gap to Lyon have defined a troubling campaign.
After a breakthrough 2020-21 campaign that saw them unseat Olympique Lyonnais (now OL Lyonnes) as Première Ligue champions for the first time in nearly two decades, Paris Saint-Germain now seems to be on a path of steady decline.
The 2026 season has so far been one to forget for the PSG women. They were eliminated from the Champions League in September without even qualifying for the group phase. They are currently sitting fifth in the domestic league and thus slipping out of contention for next year’s Champions League after being docked nine points for fielding an ineligible player in November. France’s perennial bridesmaids are in danger of losing even that dubious honour.
A nine-point setback
Not all of PSG’s woes are due to their on-field play, however. The club was stripped of nine points following a complaint by Fleury FC, a decision PSG is currently appealing.
The case hinged on PSG’s signing of Florianne Jourde from the University of Southern California (USC). Jourde, a 21-year-old Canadian international, had played several matches for the amateur Quebec club AS Laval in 2023. Under French football’s working regulations, clubs are responsible for obtaining an international transfer certificate, for any signings with a pre-existing professional contract. As Jourde was an undergraduate at the time and the US college system is not a professional league, PSG did not initially consider an ITC would be necessary.
Crucially, the transfer was approved by the French Football Federation. Fleury flagged the irregularity following their 4-0 defeat to PSG on 8 November. Jourde appeared as a substitute, entering with PSG holding a 1-0 advantage. PSG followed up with the FFF and FIFA and rectified the oversight, obtaining the ITC, within 24 hours.
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