The French Ligue de Football Professionnel announced that PSG was awarded its seventh Ligue 1 title in eight years "after the season was ended amid the COVID-19 crisis." With some clubs "having played 27 games and others 28," the LFP drew the final standings "according to a performance index -- the number of points per game weighed by head-to-head record." PSG ended the season with 2.52 points, followed by Marseille (2) and third-placed Rennes (1.79). As a result, Marseille will "qualify for the Champions League group stage with Rennes going through a qualification playoff." The LFP’s announcement "ended weeks of speculations and rows between club presidents." LFP President Nathalie Boy de la Tour said, "French football did not emerge greater from this crisis" (REUTERS, 4/30).
Amiens and Toulouse are set to be relegated, while Lorient and Lens will be "promoted from Ligue 2." Disagreements over promotion and relegation "could bring a wave of litigation," with Toulouse President Olivier Sadran having "already threatened" to bring the matter to court if Toulouse were relegated (LE PARISIEN, 4/30).
Meanwhile, Canal+ informed the LFP that it will be "terminating its contract" as Ligue 1's '19-20 broadcast partner. The net will "not make any further payments" to the French league. Canal+ last week agreed to pay €37M ($40M) to the LFP for Ligue 1 "matches already played and broadcast" before the season was suspended on March 13. Canal+ and BeIN Sports, the other Ligue 1 rights-holder in France, still owe "around" €243 ($266M) from "now until the end of the season" (L'EQUIPE, 4/30). LFP General Dir Didier Quillot said Ligue 1's "objective" is to begin the '20-21 season "in August, by the 22nd or 23rd at the latest" (L'EQUIPE, 4/30).
Sources said that French President Emmanuel Macron "wants a harmonization on the cancellation of leagues" among Europe's big five soccer countries. To that end, French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu recently has held "bilateral exchanges" with her Italian and German counterparts, while she was expected to speak with Spain’s on Thursday (LE PARISIEN, 4/30).
