By Andrew Warshaw
April 29 – France has become the first of the so-called Big Five leagues in Europe to scrap the rest of their season because of Covid-19, joining the Netherlands and Belgium in ending all domestic competition and throwing UEFA’s hopes of a co-ordinated resumption of play into disarray.
The French league season was called off after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that no sporting events would be allowed, even behind closed doors, until September.
The last thing UEFA wanted was for one of the five big leagues not to continue and Philippe’s announcement took the football authorities by surprise. France had hoped to resume on June 17 and finish the campaign on July 25, roughly in line with the plans of other major leagues.
But Nice president Jean-Pierre Riviere said it was “a wise decision”, while Sylvain Kastendeuch, president of the French professional footballers’ union, said that “the government understood that the economical emergency could not take precedence over public health”.
It is not yet known whether Ligue de Football Professional (LFP) will abandon the season with no promotion or relegation and no champion or go with current standings. Defending champions Paris St-Germain are 12 points clear of Marseille, with 10 rounds of matches to play as well as the French cup final.
Toulouse are bottom of the table, 17 points from safety, and 10 points behind Amiens. Nimes are 18th and in the relegation play-off spot, three points behind St Etienne in 17th.
PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said after the announcement that his club would still be taking part in the Champions League, if and when it is resumed, but would have to play home games on neutral ground overseas.
“We respect of course the French government decision – we plan on competing in the Champions League with UEFA agreement – wherever and whenever it is held,” said Al-Khelaifi, a member of UEFA’s executive committee.
“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.”
Financially the ruling by the government is a massive blow to French football, the weakest of Europe’s top five in terms of revenues. Last week the league had agreed a payment plan with its domestic core broadcast partners Canal+ and beIN Sport for game already played, and for what they had then hoped would be a resumption of the season. The payment plan was hailed as potentially saving a number of clubs from bankruptcy and enabling players and staff to be paid.
The LFP also has a major competition integrity issues in terms of league placings for League Two. The top five sides are separated by just four points, with Lorient and Lens currently occupying the automatic promotion spots.
Javier Tebas, president of Spain’s La Liga, said after the announcement in France that his country would not be following suit.
“I do not understand why there would more danger in playing football behind closed doors, with all precautionary measures, than working on an assembly line, being on a fishing boat on the high seas, etc,” said Tebas.
“If important economic sectors cannot restart, in a safe and controlled manner, they could end up disappearing. That could happen to professional football. In other countries teams are already training, that’s the example to follow.
“In Spain, football is an important economic driver that we need to reactivate like many others. We continue to focus on this reactivation, in a responsible manner and adhering to health recommendations, as soon as possible.”
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