The 1992–93 Division 1 season was the 55th since its establishment. Marseille finished in first with 53 points, but were stripped of their title due to a bribery scandal. Paris Saint-Germain, who had finished second, refused to accept the title, resulting in no team being crowned champions for the season.
The European Cup was renamed the Champions League in 1992–93, and Marseille reached the final for the second time in three years. They defeated Milan to become the first French side to win a European trophy and the only one to win the Champions League. Didier Deschamps and Fabien Barthez became the youngest captain and goalkeeper, respectively, to capture the title.[1]
A corruption scandal involving a league match against Valenciennes emerged a few days before the Champions League final.[2] It was alleged that club president Bernard Tapie had bribed Valenciennes to lose so that Olympique de Marseille would win the French League earlier, giving them more time to prepare for the Champions League final.[3] Valenciennes players Christophe Robert, Jorge Burruchaga and Jacques Glassmann claimed that Marseille midfielder Jean-Jacques Eydelie offered them ₣250,000 to "take the foot off of the gas" in the May 20 match.[4] Marseille were later stripped of their league title and relegated to Division 2 by the French Football Federation, while Tapie was forced to step down as the club's president. Marseille were not stripped of the Champions League, as the match in question was not in the competition, but were excluded from the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League,[5] as well as regular reigning European champions match in 1993 Intercontinental Cup and 1993 European Super Cup.
No winner was declared for the 1992–1993 season. The LFP allotted the title to Paris Saint-Germain but owners Canal+ refused it. The TV chain feared the reactions of their subscribers in Provence and threatened to withdraw from football completely if the title was awarded to PSG.[citation needed] Ultimately the LFP decided that the 1993 title would remain unattributed. Canal+ refused to allow the club to participate in the following season's Champions League after Marseille's exclusion by UEFA.[6]
Source: Footballdatabase.eu Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. Victory: 2 points, Draw: 1 point, Defeat: 0 points (D) Disqualified; (N) Refused title and entry to the UCL; (R) Relegated Notes:
^Marseille were stripped of the title and barred from 1993–94 UEFA Champions League due to their involvement in the bribery scandal. Retained league status.
^Paris Saint-Germain qualified for the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup as winners of the 1992–93 Coupe de France.
^Monaco qualified for the Champions League as league champions Marseille were disqualified and runners-up Paris Saint-Germain declined to participate.
^Toulon was administratively relegated to Championnat National due to financial difficulties.
^Le PSG est vice-champion d'un championnat sans champion suite au déclassement de l'Olympique de Marseille (Affaire VA-OM). Canal+ a refusé le titre de champion pour le PSG car la chaîne cryptée ne voulait pas se fâcher avec ses abonnés de province. On lira sur cette affaire, Jean-François Pérès et Daniel Riolo, OM-PSG, PSG-OM. Les meilleurs ennemis, enquête sur une rivalité, Paris, Mango Sport, 2003, p. 131–133: "Dans cette affaire, le PSG va plutôt choisir l'« intérêt supérieur de Canal+ » et s'obstiner dans son refus."