Just hours after UEFA gave May 25 deadline for domestic league bodies to submit their plans on how they intend to resume the season which has been halted since March due to coronavirus crisis, the Prime Minister of France, Edouard Philippe, slammed a ban on sporting events until after September.
This means that no form of sporting activities, be it behind closed doors, indoors or open field, can take place in France in the next five months from now, putting UEFA under intense pressure and making it more difficult to harmonize the season across Europe.
To salvage the situation, immediately the Prime Minister of France banned sports in the country, the French Football Federation [FFF] Executive Committee released a statement in which they called on the Professional Football League [LFP] to promptly reveal how they plan to resolve the final standings of the league seasons.
“The Comex of the FFF invites the LFP to inform it as soon as possible of the sporting consequences it intends to draw from the situation to close the L1 and L2 championships and set up a project for the resumption of activities for the 2020-21 season in light of the details the government will bring in the coming days”, the FFF statement read.
PSG is ready to leave France
In the midst of the uncertainty of whether Paris Saint-Germain which has been topping the league table with 12 points would be crowned the champions of French League 1, PSG chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, says he doesn’t mind playing the remaining matches in the UEFA Champions League outside France.
He, however, noted that before such a move can be made, the safety and the comfort of his players, coaches and non-playing staff have to be guaranteed.
“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”, he said.
“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.”
The Executive Committee of UEFA is expected to meet via conference call on May 27, where it intends to reach a decision over whether this season’s European competitions can be completed in August.
Before the season was halted, PSG has already progressed to the quarter-final stage of the Champions League after defeating Borussia Dortmund 2 goals to nill on March 11 to scale through 3-2 on aggregate.
