This time, for sure: as claimed by the government and the French Football Federation (FFF), the Professional Football League (LFP) formalized this Thursday the final cessation of the 2019-20 season in Ligue 1 and in Ligue 2. The opportunity for its president, Nathalie Boy de la Tour, and its Director General, Didier Quillot, to break their silence. The two leaders have indeed shone by their silence and their absence in recent weeks in the sometimes heated debates that have animated the "family" of French football in the media. To explain concretely the modalities of this unprecedented judgment, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but also to come back to bickering, disputes, conflicts.
"Rather, we have made the decision to work hard to try to find solutions for French football which is going through an unprecedented crisis," explains Madame Boy de la Tour, during a telephone press conference. We are in an environment where there is a lot of testosterone, ideas, sports ambitions, willingness to do things and to contribute to the collective debate. So there may have been some tense moments… I hope things can be clearer now. ” And they are now, with, pending possible appeals, the classifications which have been finalized in L1 and L2. OL have already warned that he will fight ... "We have been working in the shadows," assures the manager. I'm not used to speaking to say nothing. What we are talking about must be done. I preferred to be quiet to arrive today with concrete and very precise things even if there is still a lot to do ... ”And in particular to prepare the 2020-21 season.
Before that, we heard everything in the media, with certain presidents who are said to have exchanged bird names at recent meetings. Gentlemen Eyraud and Aulas not to name them ... The latter has even brainstormed to lay out a project of play-offs when the Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, had already whistled the end of recess Tuesday at the presentation of his plan for deconfinement.
This Thursday, the LFP Bureau and the Board of Directors finally, as expected, ratified the end of the L1 and L2 seasons. And the spirits have visibly calmed down, according to Nathalie Boy de la Tour: "The Bureau and the CA held up well, in a very positive and constructive climate, a climate much more serene than the last meetings ... It's like if, in the face of the fait accompli, each other's little squabbles disappear in order to be able to make responsible decisions. ” Same story with Didier Quillot, stressing that it only took 48 hours, since the government announcements, to put an end to "the ambient cacophony". “We decided to remain silent, to work and to speak only when we had finished working. We are very happy that this day has arrived, ”he said.
“Professional football does not come out of it grown, nevertheless agrees Nathalie Boy de la Tour. We have inventive minds in professional football, presidents who have a lot of ideas, of ego. We need to have a more compact governance, reunified club unions, to simplify our statutes. Then, this period was extremely destabilizing for everyone. There is an issue, an important media surface in football. All the little dissensions have been even more visible in the media, which in addition do not necessarily have much to chew on at the moment. Now, do we deplore it? Yes, we deplore it. We can only go after us. There are lessons to be learned from this crisis, and we will learn from them. ” It will be one of the professional football projects in the future. Not the only one.
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