Ligue 1 Season Is Declared Over
JAKARATA - The 2019-20 Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 seasons were declared to end on Tuesday, April 28, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced in a speech to the National Assembly that professional football would not be able to resume before September.
That means the 2019-20 season is over, and the next domestic competition comes at the start of the 2020-21 season.
"Major sporting events will not occur before September. The 2019-20 professional football season will not start again," said Philippe. Launch Soccerway, Wednesday.
"Major sporting and cultural events, especially festivals, major trade fairs, all events bringing together more than 5,000 participants will not be able to be held before September.
"This decision concerns all professional sports, starting with football, but also rugby, basketball and many more."
Decisions regarding European title winners, promotions, relegation and qualifications must now be made. Will Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain - 12 points clear of second-placed Marseille with a game in hand - be awarded the title?
What about Toulouse, who are rooted at the foot of the table, 10 points behind second-to-last Amiens with 10 games remaining?
As for Lorient and Lens, they occupy two automatic promotion spots in Ligue 2. How have they fared?
The @LFPfr has responded to today's announcement regarding the suspension of team sports in France: https: //t.co/ZbAwZVt6rn pic.twitter.com/iulwopoSRA
- Ligue1 English (@ Ligue1_ENG) April 28, 2020
There is a meeting between the Ministry of Sports, the LFP and the French Football Federation (FFF) scheduled for Tuesday evening. We wait for the next news.
The LFP last week revealed its plans to continue the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 seasons on June 17 and finish the campaign on July 25.
But the government has decided that the game won't even be played behind closed doors.
The divisions were suspended indefinitely on March 13 amid the COVID-19 crisis, with more than 23,000 people dying in France after contracting the virus and a country-wide lockdown until at least May 11.