France: football banned until September
Domestic football leagues to be cancelled due to new restrictions being put in place to combat Coronavirus.
France.- Prime Minister Édouard Phillipe said yesterday that all sports events in the country will be banned until at least September as part of the country’s efforts to combat Coronavirus.
The ban comes into force from 11 May, the same day that France is hoping to ease lockdown restrictions.
The French Football Federation (FFF) had hoped to resume in June but has now confirmed that all 2019-20 domestic leagues and competitions will be cancelled.
“The Executive Committee of the FFF, meeting on Tuesday, April 28 following the announcement of the de-confinement plan by Prime Minister Philippe to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, notes that it will be impossible to organise matches and resume the 2019-2020 championships,” the FFF said.
“A forthcoming meeting of the Committee will specify the sports management rules for the 2019-2020 season and also decide on the conditions for restarting the 2020-21 season.”
The FFF also said that after meeting with the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), the governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France, it was unsure how the 2019-20 seasons will be concluded.
“The Executive Committee of the FFF invites the LFP to inform it as soon as possible of the sporting consequences it intends to draw from the situation to close the L1 and L2 championships and set up a resumption of activity project for the season 2020-21 in light of the details the government will bring in the coming days”, the FFF added.
France becomes the latest European country to put an end to its 2019-20 football season after the Dutch Eredivisie last week announced that the current campaign had been declared void, with no winner, promotion or relegation.
Earlier this month, Belgium’s First Division A also announced an early end to its 2019-20 season, with Club Brugge declared the champion.
It is not clear how the Prime Minister’s announcement will affect horse racing, which was previously allowed to resume operations on May 4.
