No last minute framing-overflow attempt. Hexagonal rugby resolved to hear what Edouard Philippe had explained Tuesday, even if he had not explicitly mentioned the word rugby: “The 2019-2020 season of professional sports, especially that of football, will not be able to resume either”, had announced the Prime Minister before the deputies, while presenting the plan of progressive exit of containment put in place to fight against the epidemic of coronavirus. Meeting on Wednesday, the presidents of the Top 14 and Pro D2 clubs decided to end the 2019-2020 season, frozen since mid-March (17 days played).
And even if the sports ministry had left open the possibility of resuming competition in August – “If the pandemic no longer progresses, with small spectator gauges, less than 5,000 people “- there will therefore be no matches behind closed doors at the end of August as imagined at one time: the Top 14 would return after the summer.
The scenario in force in recent weeks provided for the semi-finals (between Bordeaux-Bègles, Lyon, Racing and Toulon) on August 22-23, as well as two jump-offs between the teams ranked from 5th to 8th place to determine the last two tickets to the European Cup. The Top 14 final was scheduled for August 29.
But, reunited after Edouard Philippe’s speech on Tuesday, the National Rugby League (LNR) had changed its position, leaning towards a total cessation of the championships. The decision made on Wednesday evening remains to be definitively ratified on Thursday during a meeting between the League, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) and the Ministry of Sports.
It should also be noted that the season will not appoint a champion, which seems to be the option chosen. As well as it will be necessary to say which teams are qualified for the next European Cup
If they are considering a resumption in September, the FFR, the LNR and professional clubs have sent a letter to the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron to alert him of their uncertain future.
“If we decide to enter the new season, we have to be able to do so with a certain number of guarantees, in particular regarding match-keeping and the economy”, Thomas Lombard, managing director of the Stade Français, told AFP. “The clubs are going to be alive for the next four months: we haven’t had any cash flow since March. There are certainly government assistance measures, but we still have charges falling. “
Roxana Maracineanu points out the “i’s” when it comes to football
Faced with football clubs that have still not ratified the Ligue 1 championship and are looking for a way to end the current season and, for the vast majority, to influence the final ranking, the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, returned the points on the “i”. At the microphone of RTL, Thursday April 30, she called “Sports bodies” to take “Their responsibilities”, insisting that the season is over: “I think the signal that the Prime Minister made in his speech was clear, simple. It’s complicated to have voices that contradict each other. ”
She invited the clubs to “Anchor yourself on certain things, the new season”, stating, however, that a recovery in August “Would go against what the Prime Minister proposed”, but not excluding that matches will be held behind closed doors before September: “If gatherings of less than 5,000 people are allowed, which has not been said”, she said.
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