The announcement hasn’t been made official, but that’s it. As was predictable, Paris Saint-Germain asked the LFP to postpone its match against Lens scheduled for April 11. As it did with Nantes for its round of 16 in the Champions League, the capital club wants to postpone its championship meeting against the Sang-et-Or originally scheduled for April 11. If the Canaries had immediately accepted the Parisian request, to the great dismay of their supporters, the Artésiens are more difficult to convince. “We, at the base, do not agree. I understand that having more rest allows you to perform better. They confirmed it during their match against Chelsea. It is a club that is very successful in several competitions. They also know the constraints. We don’t have to put up with these things.”declared Lensois coach, Pierre Sage, after the match won against Angers.
A position that surprised no one. Lens are neck and neck with Paris in the Ligue 1 standings and have no intention of doing the reigning French champions a favor in the title race. This exit, however, did not dissuade PSG from making its request for postponement. And unsurprisingly, we are heading towards an explosive situation. On the side of the Professional Football League, certain voices already see the picture emerging. “Lens will refuse for the wrong reasons, that is to say political reasons. The LFP board will vote in favor and Joseph Oughourlian will say that PSG runs French football”confided a League source to RMC. The Northerners have it bad and it was read in the columns of the Voice of the North after the announcement of the postponement requested by the Rouge-et-Bleu.
Lens will refuse
“The LFP board of directors must meet this Thursday morning to decide on the request. A priori, as specified in the texts (article 22), the LFP decides alone and does not need the agreement of the teams concerned to postpone the meetings. She has the power to modify as she wishes, knowing that when requested, her will is generally to arrange the affairs of the teams involved in the European Cup. We will see what the League decides on Thursday, but in the meantime, we also have the right to question the meaning of the operation and sporting justice, while we understand that the Lensois in history do not really have the means to oppose the request. It could only be a twist in the calendar if the two teams were not neck and neck at the top of the standings, fighting for the title of champion of France. Two teams are involved, only one is taken into consideration, where is the respect? »
This evening, RMC Sport announces without much surprise that RC Lens will oppose PSG’s request. The Artesian club would have agreed to a postponement if it had made sense. Today, while the fight for the title in Ligue 1 is in full swing, the Sang-et-Or do not want to be the turkeys of the joke, especially at the time of playing what could be a final for the L1. Clearly, they estimate that postponing the match supposed to be played on April 11 would force Pierre Sage’s men not to play for two weeks before continuing with a week of three matches. A more than understandable position, even if the LFP has always had the habit of favoring French teams involved in the European Cup (Strasbourg also asked to postpone its match against Brest placed between its two Conference League quarter-finals against Mainz, editor’s note). It now remains to be seen whether the League will apply its right to decide on a postponement without taking into account the opinion of the opponent or whether it will seek to find a consensus.
