The Professional Football League finds itself in a lot of trouble. She will have to decide between Paris Saint-Germain, who requested the postponement of their match against Racing Club de Lens between their two Champions League quarter-finals against Liverpool, and the Northerners, who do not wish to accede to this request because they would not play for 15 days before playing 3 matches in 8 days. Yesterday, the Sang-et-Or took a public position via an official press release. The ball is now in the court of the governing body of French football, which will have to make a decision which will make people happy and disappointed whatever happens. This conflict between Parisians and Lensois is also causing a lot of talk in France.
But not only that. In England, we are obviously following this affair very closely. This was already the case during the 1/8 final against Chelsea. The European champions were able to rest between the two matches against the Blues, since FC Nantes, which is playing for its continuation, had accepted the request of the NAK club. It’s his right. It is also the right of Northerners to refuse like that of Paris to ask since the regulations allow it. On the other side of the Channel, this practice caused ink to flow since the Blues had played against Newcastle between the two rounds against PSG. This time, it’s Liverpool’s turn to face this situation. Opposing the Parisians on April 8 at the Parc des Princes, the Reds will host them on April 14 at Anfield for the return match.
PSG’s request gets people talking
In the meantime, the Mersey club will host Fulham on April 11 at 6:30 p.m., 3 days after the first leg and 3 days before the return leg. Obviously, the two teams will not be on an equal footing if Paris’ request is accepted. In England, such a practice is not authorized and is surprising. THE Liverpool Echo also mentioned the fact that “PSG is criticized for its Champions League project”. Same for the Daily Mail. “Paris Saint-Germain go to war with their Ligue 1 rivals, with the French giants looking to reschedule the match in order to gain the advantage ahead of the Champions League clash against Liverpool.”
The Sun also took up the subject. “PSG requests the postponement of a crucial Ligue 1 match, on the sidelines of Liverpool’s Champions League matches (…) PSG seeks to reschedule its duel for the Ligue 1 title against Lens in order to gain the advantage over Liverpool. PSG has no desire for such a difficult match to disrupt its defense of the European title. But their protests don’t appear to be having much impact, with the French Football Federation happy to help Luis Enrique’s team. This is not the first time that such a situation has happened for PSG. A league match has been postponed to facilitate their preparation for the first leg against Chelsea in the round of 16.
Strong reactions in Liverpool
The Sun specifies: “This news caused fury among Chelsea fans – the west London club ultimately lost 8-2 on aggregate. It seems that this type of request is commonplace in France.” And this seriously concerns Liverpool, who have it bad, according to Mundo Deportivo. “This request has already caused concern at Liverpool, who see their European rivals given a break between the first and second legs – the Reds are due to host Fulham – and at Lens, who would prefer to face a weakened PSG after the first leg against Liverpool and also with the second leg in mind, in a decisive encounter for the Ligue 1 title.
English supporters are also unhappy. On X, one of them said: “RC Lens has officially expressed its opposition to PSG’s request to postpone its championship match between Liverpool’s Champions League matches. It is a question of footballing principle and respect for the integrity of the championship. Another added: “It’s hilarious how they react as if playing a championship game is some kind of unfair burden. Lens simply reminds them that they must work to obtain their titles, and not receive them on a plate with a rescheduled calendar. A last one wrote: “It’s absolutely scandalous that they always get away with this. And the opposing team doesn’t even have a say. A big club decides everything in its championship. Another corrupt club.” Liverpool may be unhappy, Paris is within its rights. The LFP’s decision is eagerly awaited and not only in France.
