May 1 – Paris St. Germain have been awarded the Ligue 1 title two days after the government ruled that the French season could not resume because of the coronavirus pandemic.
PSG were 12 points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand, when French football was suspended indefinitely on March 13. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe ruled on Tuesday that “professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart” because of the risks linked to the pandemic.
PSG were awarded the title with no fanfare or celebration, just a simple announcement that highlighted the sign of the times.
“We have (acknowledged) the end of the 2019-20 season and we have awarded the league title to PSG,” league president Nathalie Boy de la Tour said. “There is no ambiguity about this declaration. We needed to make a final decision about this season.”
Other leagues in a similar position may not have quite the same clarity in terms of domestic champions. PSG were never likely to be caught and were way ahead of second-place Marseille with 10 rounds of matches left to play.
It was PSG’s seventh title in the last eight years – and ninth overall. Nevertheless others objected to the decision to bring the campaign to an end based on a points-per-game formula, with Lyon, who were in seventh spot, threatening to take legal action after missing a chance to qualify for the lucrative Champions League.
Before the government’s intervention, French football’s governing body had been hoping to resume the season on 17 June.
In a statement, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi dedicated the title to the “healthcare staff and to all the everyday heroes on the front line whose commitment and self-sacrifice over many weeks have earned our deepest admiration.”
“We understand, respect and support the decisions taken by the French government to end the championship,” Al-Khelaifi said. “Health, as the government has always said, must be everyone’s priority.”
“In these difficult times, I hope that this trophy will bring a little happiness and hope to all our supporters, and I am grateful to them for their unwavering support which helps drive Paris St-Germain forward.”
Marseille qualified directly for the Champions League while third-place Rennes will enter the qualifying rounds and fourth-place Lille go into the Europa League.
At the bottom of the table, Toulouse and 19th-place Amiens were relegated while second-division leaders Lorient and second-placed Lens were promoted. The traditional relegation-promotion playoff between the team in 18th place in the first division and the team in third in the second division was scrapped.
The Dutch league has voided its season without any team being crowned champion or relegated. But the LFP clearly felt that wasn’t fair and based the final table on average points per game.
But Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had called for a three-week long playoff system to complete the season with PSG already declared champion.
Lyon said in a statement it may take legal recourse to claim damages, estimated to be “several tens of millions” of euros.
To make matters worse, while PSG have reached the Champions League quarterfinals, Lyon was unable to play its last-16 second leg against Juventus in Turin after winning 1-0 at home though that might still happen depending on whether the Champions League will be completed and where games involving French teams’ home games would be played from the last-eight onwards.
France now plans to start next season by August 22 at the latest, with the French Cup and League Cup finals from this season being carried over and being played earlier in August if the government gives permission.
PSG was to face Saint-Étienne in the French Cup final and Lyon in the League Cup final. Lyon and Saint-Etienne would qualify for the Europa League by winning.
Lyon would otherwise miss out on European qualification for the first time in over two decades.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713608141labto1713608141ofdlr1713608141owedi1713608141sni@w1713608141ahsra1713608141w.wer1713608141dna1713608141