“A direct harm to sporting fairness”: Lensois supporters contact the CNOSF to cancel the postponement of Lens-PSG

The supporters get involved. After several days of debate last week, the board of directors of the Professional Football League (LFP) decided to decide in favor of Paris Saint-Germain and postpone the clash of the 29th day of Ligue 1 between RC Lens and the capital club until May 13. What if this decision was revoked?

In any case, this is what the representatives of the Sang et Or supporters associations are demanding in a letter addressed this Tuesday to the management of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF). The thirty signatories request the opening of a conciliation, indicating that “this postponement was imposed on RC Lens which did not give its agreement, creating direct harm to sporting fairness” at the end of the French Football Championship.

The press release recalls that the LFP cannot decide to postpone a meeting only “in the case of exceptional circumstances”. A qualifier that he refutes: “To justify this postponement (as well as that of Stade Brestois – RC Strasbourg), the LFP invokes the request of the clubs concerned to prepare their European quarter-finals and a strong strategic line aimed at maintaining France’s fifth place in the UEFA index”.

“Our goal is to request the reversal of this decision”

“We strongly contest this reading of the regulation for the following reasons: A strategy is not an exceptional circumstance. (…) The preservation of the UEFA index is a long-standing political and strategic objective of the League, and the presence of French clubs in the quarter-finals of European cups is the logical continuation of the sporting season. There is no unpredictability here justifying the activation of Article 411 (Editor’s note, relating to calendar modifications by the LFP),” she assures, adding that exempting PSG “from their national obligations during the season purely and simply distorts the Ligue 1 championship.”

“Our objective is to request the cancellation of this decision to postpone until May 13 and compliance with the initial schedule, guaranteeing the fairness of Ligue 1,” conclude the supporter groups. To be continued…