Ligue 1 delays decision on season fate until Thursday

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said professional football and other sports in France cannot resume until September because of coronavirus restrictions.

The Ligue 1 will not begin anytime before September.

The French league (LFP) said on Tuesday its executive board will meet on Thursday to discuss the effect of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's earlier announcement about cancelling the season.

Philippe said professional football and other sports in France cannot resume until September because of coronavirus restrictions.

France's sports ministry told

AFP after Philippe's speech that fixtures could not take place even behind closed doors before the end of July, leaving open the possibility that some matches could still be played in August.

 

A source said that sports minister Roxana Maracineanu had confirmed the later announcement with club directors from Ligue 1 outfits.

LFP's administrative council will meet at a later date and is set to formally cancel the campaign before calling a general meeting where the end of season standings will be decided.

- Ligue 1 season 'over' for FFF chief Le Graet -

Earlier, French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet said he thinks the Ligue 1 season is over due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We informed the executive board, what it already knew, that Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 will not start, that the National (third tier) will not start or the Women's D1 either,” Le Graet told Brittanny-based newspaper Le Telegramme.

“These four competitions are definitively over for the 2019-2020 season,” he added.