Boxing rules in football — whoever wins gets… the stick

France’s Ligue 1 has a lot of traditions, rituals, and superstitions, but few are as charming, bizarre, and truly footballing as the “Baton de Bourbotte” — a simple wooden stick about thirty centimeters long, which has become the luckiest talisman of the French championship. Yes, you read that correctly. A stick. Literally. Wooden. And clubs fight over it.

Although the stick was physically created only this season, its “legend” dates back to 1946. After World War II, the first champion of France was Lille. The captain of that team was named Bourbotte, and the stick was later named after him. In 2008, a French football blog had an idea:

"Let’s create a virtual champion’s belt that passes from team to team — whoever beats the current holder takes it!"

The starting point was logical: Lille from 1946, the first post-war champion. From then on, the madness began: 2,912 matches were analyzed, 952 baton transfers were recorded, and 53 clubs have held it. It sounds like a wrestling belt, but in football form. According to the statisticians running the project, Paris Saint-Germain has held the baton the most, 247 matches, followed by Nantes (201), and PSG also has the longest consecutive streak — 26 matches in a row.

Until this season, it was all just a digital fan game. Then, last summer, a 24-year-old Alsatian, a Strasbourg supporter, proposed: “Why don’t we make a real wooden stick?” He found a craftsman, cut a plank, engraved “Ligue 1” and “Baton de Bourbotte”, stylized it… and now there is a real, tangible stick traveling across France. And chaos ensued.

How it works: Team A has the baton. Whoever beats Team A takes it. If it’s a draw, the baton stays put. Clubs proudly carry it, take photos, post it online, hide it, celebrate it…

Since the start of the season: Rennes had it first, then Lorient, Lille, Lens, Metz, and as of last night, Brest, who beat Metz 3-2 with a penalty in the 90+10th minute. At Metz’s training center, striker Gautier Ean carried the baton around like a Holy Grail in the previous weeks. Fans touched it, the club recorded it, players took it to birthday celebrations. One player said: “For three rounds we didn’t even know what it was, now we won’t let it go. It brings luck.”

And so yesterday, when Brest plays Metz, it’s not just Brest vs. Metz — it’s a battle for the baton. A small detail creating a mini-narrative and adding extra charm to the mid-table. Officially — no. But the Ligue 1 logo is engraved on the stick, so it’s possible the league may get involved, especially as the phenomenon grows week by week. One idea is to introduce a mini-trophy at the end of the season, or recognition for the team that held it the longest.

There’s a sacred goal for fans and the creators of the baton: for video cameras to capture the moment when the captain of the winning team takes the baton from the defeated team at the center of the field. They say: “That would be the kind of football we love: simple, fun, human.”

Metz held the baton until last night. They almost kept it for at least another seven days, but in stoppage time, Brest had two penalties with the score at 2-2. The first in the 95th minute was missed, but the second in the 99th minute was scored for 3-2 (1-1). The next holder of the baton could be Strasbourg if next week (17:00) they beat Brest at home.