PSG to be crowned champions after freezing of French league: Report

Paris, April 30 (IANS) The French Ligue 1 has recommended that Paris St Germain be declared champions after the 2019/20 season was frozen.

According to French daily L’Equipe, the league has recommended that the results of the season be as per the current standings which would mean that PSG would win their seventh title in the last eight years while second-placed Olympicque Marseille and third-place Stade Rennais would be in next season’s Champions League.

Lille, Stade de Reims and Nice would qualify for the Europa League.

Meanwhile, Amiens and Tolouse will be relegated to Ligue 2 while Lorien and Lend will be promoted to Ligue 1.

Earlier, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told the country’s national assembly, while addressing plans to ease the lockdown in France that had been put in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic, that “the 2019-20 season of professional sports, including football, will not be able to resume” before September.

“It will be possible, on sunny days, to practice an individual sporting activity outdoors, obviously respecting the rules of social distancing. It will not be possible, neither to practice sport in covered places, nor team or contact sports,” he said.

European football governing body UEFA has given a May 25 deadline to national football associations to provide plans of restarting their respective leagues.

–IANS

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