PSG: the advanced cup finals on July 25 and August 1?

It's a short sentence with serious consequences for French football. In his letter to Jean-Michel Aulas, UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin stressed that August 3 was the deadline "for national associations to provide UEFA with the list of clubs that will participate in club club competitions this season next ”.

The European body informed us in the process that Ligue 1 could quite end with playoffs before August 2. But this reminder especially upsets the recovery schedule provided by the national authorities who, for their part, ratified the judgment of Ligue 1.

The Federation and the League had indeed planned to resume competitions in France, after the confinement period, by the two finals that remain to be played this season: August 1 for that of the League Cup between PSG and OL , then on August 8 for the final of the Coupe de France between Paris and Saint-Etienne, each time at the Stade de France.

Answer on June 17 and 18

The constraint of August 3 prevents this schedule from being kept, except to consider that in the event of a victory against PSG, Saint-Etienne will not take part in the Europa League next season! Impossible.

Anticipating such a scenario, the League, at its last board of directors, proposed two new dates by advancing each final by one week. We are therefore heading for a PSG-Lyon (Coupe de la Ligue) on July 25 and a PSG-Saint-Etienne (Coupe de France) on August 1.

This formula would allow Lyon to have time to prepare for its eighth-final Champions League return against Juventus Turin if it were to be fixed in early August. We will know more after the UEFA executive committee on 17 and 18 June. In the meantime, Lyon will resume training on Monday, Saint-Etienne on June 17 and Paris on June 22.