French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has yesterday announced that no sporting events, not even those played behind closed doors could be held in the country until at least September.
He said: “The 2019-2020 season of professional sports, including football, will not be able to resume.
“It will be possible, on sunny days, to practice an individual sporting activity outdoors, obviously respecting the rules of social distancing.
“It will not be possible, neither to practice sport in covered places, nor team or contact sports.”
Hence, the Ligue 1 becomes the first among the Europe top 5 leagues to cancel the current campaign due to the coronavirus outbreak. The French league also joined the Holland Eredivisie who announced last week the league will not be concluded and has decided to use the current league standings to decide the fate of teams. No champion is announced and no team will be relegated.
The Ligue de Fooball Professionnel LFP has not announced how to finalise the standings but reports suggest there will be a meeting next month to arrive a conclusion.
With 10 games to spare, PSG currently sit at the top of the standings, 12 points ahead of Olympique de Marseille in second with Stade de Rennais in third, just a point ahead of Lille in fourth. Amiens and Toulouse occupy the relegation places while Nîmes sit just above them in relegation playoff against a team from the Ligue 2.
With PSG and Lyon still in the Champions League, the decision could prove a hindrance for UEFA who have been determined to conclude the current UCL season as no matches will be played across the whole of France.
The decision of how to go by it will be left to UEFA who are yet to react to the decision of the country.
Written by: AFOLABI KEHINDE HASSAN
