Paris St German has been crowned League 1 Champion despite the league being cancelled.
Earlier this month, the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel) outlined plans to restart the campaign in June with lockdown measures in France set to be lifted on May 11.
However, French prime minister Edouard Philippe insisted that such a scenario was impossible during a national assembly on Tuesday, while revealing that no sporting events will be allowed to take place until September at the earliest.
Following a vote over how the league standings should be decided, the LFP confirmed on Thursday that Thomas Tuchel’s men are champions of France for a third successive year, while seventh-placed Lyon have failed to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.
The classification has been established based on the average number of points each team has gained thus far in relation to matches played, meaning Marseille and Rennes have earned a place in the Champions League.
Didier Quillot, general director of the LFP, said that as far as they are concerned the 2019-20 French football season is now over, and their goal is to start the 2020-21 season no later than August 22.
He said: “There may be appeals, but our decisions are solid.
“We are not restarting the next championship after August, except in the event of force majeure and a new outbreak of the epidemic.”
However Quillot did say they would play the finals of the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue in early August, if given permission by UEFA, which would impact qualification for the Europa League.
He said: “If the finals of the Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France take place, the places in the Europa League will be allocated to their winner, if the winner is not PSG. The rule does not change.”
Lille, Reims and Nice looked to have booked spots in the Europa League through their league standings, however that is now subject to change.
Source: Goal.com
