ASVEL Villeurbanne Hit with FIBA Registration Ban Over Lauvergne Debt
ASVEL Villeurbanne faces a FIBA player registration ban over unpaid debts to former player Joffrey Lauvergne, compounding the French club's financial woes during the EuroLeague season.
Following their season-opening win against Maccabi Tel Aviv and a tough loss to Panathinaikos, ASVEL Villeurbanne is facing fresh financial trouble. The French club has been hit with a registration ban for new players after failing to settle a significant debt owed to Joffrey Lauvergne, who played for the team from 2022 to 2025 and now plays for Partizan Belgrade.
According to Eurohoops, Villeurbanne still owes Lauvergne around 300,000 euros. The sanction was imposed after the club missed two consecutive payments from a previous settlement agreement, prompting the 35-year-old center to turn once again to the FIBA Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT).
The immediate consequence is that the club cannot register new players until the dispute is resolved. For Villeurbanne, this comes at a particularly problematic time, amidst the EuroLeague's first double-week of the season and a campaign where the team has already faced a significant budget cut.
Lauvergne, standing at 2.11 meters, played 208 NBA games for Denver, Oklahoma City, Chicago, and San Antonio before returning to Europe. He returned to Partizan for a second stint last April and now boasts 170 EuroLeague appearances.
Villeurbanne opened its European campaign with a 1-1 record and is scheduled to host Valencia on Friday. However, financial issues continue to plague the club in the background, forcing a major budget reduction over the summer and leaving the team unable to make further roster additions until the debt is cleared.
