"The 2019-2020 professional sports season, especially the football season, will not be able to resume," Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday. Here is how the rest is organized.
Is the season over?
It is up to the League's board of directors (LFP) to decide next week while it is holding its office this Thursday morning with two agendas: the economic consequences of stopping competitions and the end of season. In the meantime, everyone is getting organized to find an alternative solution. Jean-Michel Aulas, the president of Lyon, proposes a new format to complete the championship in the form of playoffs with 53 new games in August! "He is in the midst of madness," analyzes one of his senior colleagues.
The former candidate for the presidency of Fifa, Jérôme Champagne, adviser to Ahmet Schaefer, the president of Clermont Foot, wrote this Wednesday a note of more than 7,500 signs entitled "Complementary and compensatory measures for the rescue of French professional football " Brilliant spirit, Champagne wants its club, 5th, four points behind the leader of Ligue 2 Lorient before the end of competitions on March 13, to contest the roadblocks to Ligue 1.
He proposes to "organize around mid-June in a single zone, under strict sanitary conditions, on neutral ground, with a single match rather than the round-trip formula initially planned for the play-offs, the four games allowing the season to end current. This would concern only six clubs (instead of 41), one from L1 (Nîmes Olympique), four from L2 (AC Ajaccio, ESTAC, Clermont Foot 63, Chamois Niortais) and one from National 1 (US Boulogne). This would also make it possible to test in full scale the conditions for organizing the finals of the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue. "
Despite these last-ditch attempts, the League's Board of Directors will vote next week, unless the situation turns around, the end of the current season. This is the wish of the majority of the members of the government of pro football. It is also the will of the president of the French Federation, Noël Le Graët, who has already put pressure on the pros by proposing his solution: freezing of the classification at the 27th day, two climbs and two descents between Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and the National. It is above all, finally, the “order” of Emmanuel Macron, who even aims in this area for European harmonization.
Will we be able to play football in August?
Edouard Philippe explained it: "The big sporting events, all the events which gather more than 5000 participants, cannot be held before the month of September". Some football players have understood that competitions in August were not possible. Influential leaders warn club presidents of an impossible recovery in August, the planned start of the 2020-2021 season, either August 7 (the majority preference) or August 23 (the date decided during the pandemic) . Government sources indicate that the meetings may take place in August behind closed doors, if the health situation allows.
VIDEO. Deconfinement: no major cultural or sporting events before September
There remains the problem of the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue. If the two finals are disputed in August, they will take place a priori with numbers different from those who have played them until now.
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As of June 30, certain contracts will end, such as those of Thiago Silva or Edinson Cavani at PSG, involved in the two cuts. If the transfer window takes place this summer as usual, Neymar can, theoretically, sign in Saint-Etienne and then compete in the final of the Coupe de France in the legendary jersey of the Greens. Inevitably, for Paris, winning against Neymar can be more complicated than facing Loïs Diony.
When will PSG be crowned champion?
In theory, the League's board of directors must convene a general meeting to decide on the terms for stopping the season. But some club presidents rebel against this decision and judge that the board of directors has the competence to decide on the final classification by a vote.
This statutory battle is ongoing. If it is ultimately necessary to defer to a General Assembly, it cannot be held before mid-May, probably not before May 20. The government prohibits gatherings of more than ten people so it could take place partly physically and partly by videoconference. The problem of remote electronic voting remains to be resolved.
It is only at the end of the board of directors or the General Assembly that the PSG will be declared champion of France 2020. The delivery of Hexagoal and the related protocol have not yet been decided.
When will training resume?
The sessions, within the framework of a strict protocol, can resume from May 11. But each club awaits the decisions of the League to decide. The lack of visibility for the rest of the season prevents the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 teams from getting organized. PSG has not yet decided.
What are the financial losses?
At least 278 million euros, if we consider the money from broadcasters that will never arrive when the championship is officially stopped. But there is also the impact of ticketing, the reimbursement of subscriptions, the shortfall in sponsorship. Each club has its problems and the compensation mechanisms provided by the State are not yet all known. In a note to the clubs, Bernard Caïazzo, the president of the union of Premier League, evaluates to almost 1 billion euros the losses of French football by including a market of transfers at half mast.