It is an earthquake that threatens the foundations of French football. According to information from RMC Sport, the Professional Football League (LFP) urgently summons a board of directors this Wednesday, February 12, faced with the brutal distrust of Dazn, its main broadcaster. The British platform would refuse to pay the February deadline, plunging clubs and instances into uncertainty. An unprecedented break, with the appearance of an open crisis, between the LFP and its strategic partner.
A delay bomb
The situation is explosive: Dazn, holder of the rights of eight matches in nine in Ligue 1, threatens to suspend the payment of a deadline scheduled for February 15. A coup that forced the LFP to react in emergency, summoning its leaders to assess the possible “appeals”. In an internal email, Vincent Labrune, president of the League, described the situation as “urgent”, stressing the risk for club finances.
However, behind the appearances of a major crisis, it is for the moment only a single unison. Dazn, usually punctual, should have already credited the accounts of the LFP, but is slow to do so, invoking a “lack of loyalty” on the part of the body. The platform criticizes the league its lack of efficiency in the fight against hacking, which strikes its number of subscribers in France (around 500,000, far from the 1.5 million targeted).
An open crisis between Dazn and LFP
According to our sources, Dazn would even consider a legal recourse to demand a renegotiation of his contract, believing that he has overpayed the rights with regard to his results. “The League has not sufficiently defended our interests,” insists a close friend of the file. Opposite, the LFP wants to be adamant: “The contracts were armored after Mediapp. Dazn will have to respect them, ”thunders an internal source.
Clubs hold their breath. The February deadline represents around 57 million euros, half of which depends on Dazn. “Without this money, how to pay wages?” “, A club president is alarmed, under the cover of anonymity. Others, more serene, bet on a quick regulation: “Dazn will pay, they bluff to obtain guarantees”, tempers a European club leader.
Does Mediapp's shadow hover?
If the LFP claims to have “learned the lessons from the past”, the similarities with the MEDIAPRO (2020) crisis. But this time, the contracts would provide penalties in the event of a defect, and beIN Sports, the other diffuser, has already honored its share. The fact remains that Dazn, weakened by her setbacks in Italy, seems ready to play the showdown card.
The continuation will depend on the arbitrations on Wednesday. The LFP could activate guarantee clauses or seize justice, while Dazn tries to impose a pressure dialogue. One certainty: in club offices, we count the hours, hoping to avoid a black scenario … where French football would once again pay its tensions at a high price.
