Demba Ba has resigned as sporting director of Le Havre, walking away from the Ligue 1 club just four months into the role as the Normandy side descends into a full-blown leadership crisis.

According to L'Équipe, the former Senegal international chose to leave in response to escalating internal instability — a situation that has rapidly unravelled following a catastrophic result at the weekend.

The defeat that broke the club apart

The crisis was triggered by a damaging 5-1 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain, a result that cost head coach Didier Digard his job. The board moved to dismiss Digard in the immediate aftermath of the heavy defeat against the French champions.

That result compounded an already desperate start to the season for Le Havre. The club has collected just two points from their opening nine Ligue 1 fixtures, leaving them anchored to the foot of the table.

Executive suite in freefall

Digard's dismissal set off a chain reaction at boardroom level. Club president Jean-Michel Roussier handed in his own resignation in protest at the coach's removal, and Ba followed suit — leaving Le Havre without a sporting director, a manager, or a club president in one dramatic sequence of departures.

The ownership group Blue Crow now face a daunting task: rebuild the club's sporting and executive structure from scratch while fighting to avoid what would be an immediate return to the second tier. With nine games played and the season already threatening to spiral out of control, every decision in the weeks ahead will carry enormous weight.

Ba, a former striker who built his reputation at clubs including Chelsea before retiring from playing, had been seen as a forward-thinking appointment when he took up the sporting director post earlier this year. His swift exit underlines just how volatile the situation at Le Havre has become.