The season of Ligue 1 definitively stopped, according to the advice of the government? "I'm not sure," assured AFP Jean-Michel Aulas, president of Olympique Lyonnais, posing Tuesday against the tide by advocating "an alternative solution" , for example in the form of "play -offs ".
What is your reaction after the declarations of the Prime Minister who advocates the end of professional competitions at least until August?
Jean-Michel Aulas:I have a reading, not different, but I think that the Prime Minister's words and prolonged by the exchanges that we had with the Ministry of Sports go in the direction of a reprogramming of what had been proposed by the League (a resumption of the season mid-June, note) (...) I understood that from the beginning of June we could resume training anyway. And given the fact that UEFA continues to finalize the matches of C3 and C1 over the month of August, I wonder if there is not an opportunity to find a format that would allow the championship to end in July and maybe August and to make sure to stay in the spirit of what the League wanted, namely to finish the championship at all costs. (...) So I think we will have to wait a little more precisely for the League office which will meet by the end of the week (Thursday, note) and which will convene a board of directors for the early next week, who can decide to end the 2019-2020 season definitively.
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Have you already consulted with other Ligue 1 presidents?
There are several trends among presidents. Those who are currently in a position to be eligible in a classification that allows them to qualify the first for the European cups should not be allowed, I am thinking in particular of the second (Marseille, Editor's note) and third (Rennes) of the championship, imagine that it is a positive point to stop the championship compared to the current classification. This is why we have to think about all the hypotheses related to UEFA.
"We have to look at whether it is economically worthwhile and especially if UEFA accepts it"
Is the idea of ending the season in the fall and switching to a spring-summer championship still valid?
You have to look at whether it is economically valid and especially if UEFA accepts it. I had said that UEFA had to give the green light, but currently it is not the scenario it wants. UEFA wants to end the competitions. They would have liked the championships to end at the beginning of August but given the decision of the French State I think we should discuss with them because there is surely the possibility of postponing until September 15 the start of the next season and to allow UEFA to make its decisions in terms of (European) qualifications for the following season. (...) The people interested in making sure that their decision is the right one, obviously today are those who are qualified at the moment T. But since the championship is not finished, I find that it is necessary do everything to find an alternative solution, either by playing a number of play-offs during the month of August, or by postponing until September 15 the start of the championship. It is more realistic than the solution (by) Jean-Pierre Rivère (end the season in autumn, Editor's note) which was not approved by UEFA. The Prime Minister's decision not to accept the plan (of the LFP) which made it possible to deconfine May 11 shifts all the same (the calendar). Does this mean that the championship is over? I'm not sure of it.
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