Coronavirus: French football wants exemptions from confinement for players

Another bad news for French football! This Wednesday, BeIN decided to imitate Canal + and not to honor its deadline of 42 million euros expected on April 5. "Our group has made the decision to suspend the next payments provided for in our agreement until the leagues 1 and 2 championships can resume according to a schedule allowing their normal distribution to our subscribers," said in a letter Yousef Al-Obaidly, the head of the Qatari group, letter consulted by AFP. The encrypted channel does not want to pay the 110 million euros due on that date. It is a safe bet that the two broadcasters of the French Championships also refuse to settle their deadline of June 5.

BeIN's refusal came after the telephone meeting of the office of the Professional Football League, which centralizes audiovisual rights. This Wednesday morning, this body appointed four mediators responsible for negotiating with Canal + a way out of the crisis. Nasser Al-Khelaïfi (PSG), Jacques-Henri Eyraud (Marseille), Jean-Pierre Rivère (Nice) and Olivier Sadran (Toulouse) were thus appointed, without the approval of the president, Nathalie Boy de la Tour, who s 'has abstained.

The faster L 1 resumes, the sooner they will get TV rights

Behind the scenes, the clubs are struggling to take back whatever the cost, even if it means going beyond health requirements. Some Ligue 1 teams would like to have a free pass in containment so that players, even if they sleep in the training centers, can group together. In the minutes of the LFP office of March 27 that we obtained, it is thus written in the section “scenarios of resumption of activity”: “Give to the sportsmen exemptions from confinement to resume training more quickly (possibility under review) ". The sooner L 1 resumes, the sooner they will receive the TV rights on which they are dependent.

At the European level, the problem is the same. UEFA brought together the 55 member federations for a conference vision. The European body postpones all international, friendly and official meetings, scheduled for June. It is, thus, to offer to the various leagues, currently stopped due to the epidemic of Covid-19, the possibility of finishing the national championships.

But the body that governs European football has also advanced a deadline to complete the current national events: August 3, 2020, the latest deadline. However, no mention is made of the Champions League and the European Cup, which are currently suspended. German media reports a final in July or early August behind closed doors in Istanbul to be sure that it takes place. In the meantime, UEFA is suspending its financial fair play system for the end of the season, which should allow OM to participate in the Champions League if the championship ends and it retains its 2nd place.