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The 2019-2020 French football season ended after French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that sporting events will not take place until at least September.
Speaking while revealing France’s plans to get out of the running of the bulls, Philippe confirmed that all sports should remain banned in the coming months.
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“Big sporting events won’t be able to take place before September,” said Philippe. “The 2019-20 season, especially for soccer, cannot be resumed.”
The decision puts an end to Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 hopes of returning to training in May for a restart in mid-June and puts further pressure on UEFA regarding the Champions League, with Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals and Lyon leading Juventus in their round of … 16 tie. UEFA had planned to play the Champions League to end in August, but this is becoming increasingly doubtful.
The president of the French federation, Noel Le Graet, confirmed the end of the season soon after.
Le Graet a Le Telegramme: “Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Championnat National and Women’s D1 are permanently suspended for the 2019-20 season.”
Le Graet also ruled out the scenario of starting the 2020-21 season in January or February.
The Professional Football League (LFP) and the French Football Federation (FFF) will now have to decide how to deal with the issue of promotion, relegation and European qualification regarding the first three levels of French football, as well as the possible restart of football in September.
Last week, RMC Sport reported that the LFP was considering three options: take the table at the midpoint, after 27 rounds or as it is now in points per game. [effectively the table as it stands].
The different ethical options of the LFP to determine the end of League 1. (RMC Sport) pic.twitter.com/w25PEGucOv
– Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) April 28, 2020
PSG, with a 12-point lead at the top of the table with a game in hand, also faces an anxious wait to find out if they will be crowned champions. The club has said it is ready to play abroad to complete the Champions League season.
“Of course, we respect the decision of the French government, we plan to compete in the Champions League with the UEFA agreement, where and when it takes place,” the club’s president and CEO, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, said in a statement.
“If it is not possible to play in France, we will play our matches abroad subject to the best conditions for our players and the safety of all our staff.”
Toulouse President Olivier Sadran welcomed the news with his bottom side of the league and 17 points adrift of safety with 10 games to play.
“For me, football wins by not continuing,” he told L’Equipe. “The politicians have made the right decision. What led everyone back on the road was the economic argument.
“Despite what some say, the agreement with Canal + and beIN Sports is of good quality. From my point of view, this has stabilized.”
Lyon will be crowned women’s league champion for the fourteenth time in a row if the FFF decides there should be winners for the 2019-20 campaign.
The Coupe de France will also be rescheduled.
The decision comes after Montpellier’s Junior Sambia became the first Ligue 1 player to test positive for coronavirus last week.
Sambia was placed in an artificial coma after initially testing positive, but his agent Frederic Guerra said the player started breathing without help.
La Liga president Javier Tebas criticized the decision not to play the rest of the French seasons behind closed doors.
“I don’t understand why there would be more danger in playing soccer behind closed doors, with all precautionary measures, than working on an assembly line, being on a fishing boat on the high seas, etc.,” he said.
“If important economic sectors cannot restart, in a safe and controlled manner, they could end up disappearing. That could happen with professional football. In other countries, the teams are already training, that is the example to follow.
“In Spain, football is an important economic engine that we need to reactivate like many others. We continue to focus on this reactivation, in a responsible manner and respecting health recommendations, as soon as possible.”
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