Ligue 1, restart on June 17th (but players protest)
The French federation has officially set June 17 as the shooting date for Ligue 1, but at the moment the players are against
In recent weeks we have told how Germany was the first to allow the resumption of training for professional teams and how the Bundesliga could have been the first among the great European tournaments to start again even if no official dates have yet been proposed. In Italy a protocol has been drawn up for the resumption of training and the safe conduct of events but the feeling is that there will be a long arm wrestling between the FIGC and the government over who will take responsibility for kicking off football and we know that in our country this kind of confrontation is more exhausting than constructive. In England and Spain they discuss various hypotheses but are still far from finding a solution. France instead, as it had already done with the Tour de France moved in late August, is the first to indicate an official date for the resumption of Ligue 1.
Ligue 1 on June 17th
With an official release from Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, the first two French professional championships, after the unanimous vote that gave a favorable result for the resumption of the championships, the date of Wednesday 17 June for the resumption of tournaments was officially established. The goal is to complete the championships by July 25 in order to allow the 2020-21 season to run smoothly starting from August 22. The LFP also specified that a special health commission has been created to develop a recovery protocol to protect the health of the players which reports’ We have scrupulously followed the advice of the Government and we work with the Ministry of Sport and Interior to study the best conditions for a return to the pitch, ensuring everyone’s health. ‘ This note, as we will see below, is not accidental. In the meantime, the French government will have to give answers by the end of the month to confirm the resumption of competitions. Of course, all games would be played behind closed doors.
The clash with the players
The LFP has specified that a special health commission has been created because the French footballers association through President Sylvain Kastendeuch has made it known that it is against a premature recovery of the activity declaring that the economic emergency cannot be put in front of the greeting public. The concern of UNFP is not only linked to the coronavirus, but also to the possibility of an increase in injuries as a consequence of a calendar in which many games will be played in the middle of summer in a few days. This scenario, which could also occur in other countries, is also played on the different positions of the leagues compared to those of the players. If the former need not to see the contracts for the television broadcast of the matches going up in smoke (which, for example, will increase in France next season thanks to the new contract signed with Mediapro), the latter are indeed concerned about the economic prospects of the break and of the crisis that will ensue, but for many points of view they have the knife on the side of the handle since they are the ones to take the field. One account is a president who threatens not to bring his team to the field, see Cellino at Brescia, another is a large number of players who decide not to play regardless of which team they belong to. A compromise will be found and the social and entertainment function of the sport will have a strong value at the time of the restart. Meanwhile, France has given a concrete place to its two most popular events, Ligue 1 and Tour de France, waiting to see if they can really be played.
