Following news that the Eredivisie would cancel its 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, France government officials have reportedly decided to do the same for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.
According to a report from RMC Sport, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will make the official announcement on Tuesday but there will be no sporting events in France before September.
Breaking | French PM Édouard Philippe: "The big sporting affairs cannot occur before September. The 2019/20 football season cannot return."
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) April 28, 2020
It was previously reported that the season in France could resume as early as June 3 or June 17 and conclude on July 25. With the safety of the players and all those involved being paramount, the decision was apparently made to scrap the current season.
With that decision comes several ramifications. First, the financial impact will be dire for many clubs. Paris Saint-Germain will take a substantial hit but they should survive. Other clubs will need government assistance to avoid bankruptcy most likely.
It remains to be seen if the current standings will hold and PSG will be named champions or if the season will be voided altogether.
Understandably most are concentrating on what could happen at the top of Ligue 1 re title, European places etc. Would be something if France followed Netherlands in nixing relegation, though, & @larssivertsen favourites Toulouse avoided the drop having been doomed for months
— Andy Brassell (@andybrassell) April 28, 2020
The decision begs the question as to what happens with PSG who reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League last month before football around Europe was shut down.
Reported that France will look to start 2020-21 in August, but this creates huge problems for UEFA with PSG in QFs of 2019-20 Champions League (planned for August).
It will also cause issues over alignment of transfer windows, if other leagues and comps continue into August.
— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) April 28, 2020
The Champions League was expected to resume in August, if that’s the case, it’s unlikely PSG would be able to host a match at the Parc des Princes. If the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season resumes in September, that would leave literally no time for the players to recover before starting another competition. Then there’s the issue of the summer transfer window. When will that open?
There’s also the report that teams from leagues that don’t complete their season could face non-qualification for the 2020-21 Champions League. If PSG doesn’t win the tournament this season, will they miss out next year?
Source at UEFA: leagues who void seasons could find it difficult to nominate UCL and UEL reps, ESPECIALLY if other leagues complete their comps. Non-completion could lead to non-qualification, could be seen that teams did not qualify if voided, brings coefficient issues also.
— Chris Williams (@Chris78Williams) March 27, 2020
There’s a lot of questions around this decision and we’ll share more information once we get it.
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.
