To win the French football championship, RC Lens and PSG do not only compete on the pitch. A standoff is now launched between the two Ligue 1 clubs around a calendar.
Monday evening, the management of RC Lens made known its opposition to a postponement of its match against Paris scheduled for three weeks, citing its attachment “to fairness, clarity of the rules and respect for all players”.
The precedent with Nantes before Chelsea
The clash of the 29th day of Ligue 1 between the Parisian leader (60 points, with one game in hand) and its runner-up Lensois (59 points) is currently scheduled for Saturday April 11 at the Bollaert stadium, i.e. between the first and second leg quarter-finals of the Champions League that PSG will play against Liverpool.
Before its victorious round of 16 against Chelsea, the Parisian club had, however, obtained that the reception of Nantes during the 26th day, which took place between these two European meetings, was postponed. The match was thus rescheduled for April 22, the Professional Football League announced on Monday.
For Lens, PSG “knows the constraints”
Hoping to obtain the same favor with Lens, the capital club officially requested a postponement from the League, a source close to the club indicated Monday evening, arguing that this type of rescheduling has in the past been regularly implemented by the LFP for the benefit of different French clubs involved in European competitions. PSG will comply with the decisions of the authorities, this source insisted, while emphasizing the importance of approaching these subjects with moderation and within the collective framework which governs the French championship.
But for the moment, Lens does not see it that way. In a press release released Monday evening in reaction to “the recent multiplication of speeches, interventions and various suggestions”, the management of the Artesian club indicated that “the Racing Club de Lens has, from the first requests, made known to Paris Saint-Germain its intention not to see this date modified”.
Our Ligue 1 file
Lensois coach Pierre Sage spoke on Friday evening after his team’s 5-1 victory against Angers at the start of the 27th day. “We don’t agree,” he said. “We played a Coupe de France match (in Lyon on March 5) on Thursday, we had to play on Sunday against Metz,” he recalled. “I understand that having rest allows you to perform better (…) but it is a club which is very efficient, which is in a lot of competitions, so it knows the constraints. »
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