French State Council annuls AS Monaco tax treaty with Ligue 1

The State Council of France, the country's highest administrative court, has annulled the 2014 agreement signed by the French Ligue 1 and AS Monaco FC, which stipulated that the principality's team should pay 50 million euros (around $55 million) in low taxes to participate in the league.

The State Council deemed the agreement unlawful, according to an official statement reeaed on Thursday, as the French league pledged in January 2014 to amend its regulations and allow Monaco to continue in Ligue 1 or Ligue 2 in France without obligation to move its headquarters to French territory, reports Efe.

The statement added that the State Council is aware that the French sports code does not oblige AS Monaco to pay that sum or even to move its headquarters to French territory, and thus the administrative regulations of the league will not be modified.

The ruling will enter into force starting next October, the court clarified, adding that it would have no retroactive impact on the previous season of Ligue 1, in which Monaco came in third place.

Ligue 1 clubs Bordeaux, Lille, Lorient, Caen, Marseille, Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain filed a challenge to the State Council arguing that Monaco should pay a 50 million-euro tax to participate in the French league.