Ligue 1: facing the coronavirus, the League maintains its protocol without shaking hands
Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 players will continue not to shake hands before the championship matches, according to the new protocol adapted to the risk of coronavirus, said Tuesday to AFP the President of the League (LFP) Nathalie Boy of the tower. “We will continue this new protocol, because we have a duty of exemplarity. There will be no handshakes, in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health”said the leader.
The proceeding upset, Saturday, the device that precedes the meetings of L1 and L2, by inviting players, referees and other actors not to shake hands before kick-off.
This instruction followed health advice from the Ministry of Health to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus which left three people dead in France, according to the official count stopped on Monday evening. “The most important thing is that at this stage, no match is postponed, continued Nathalie Boy de la Tour. The prefects are our privileged interlocutors. It is on a case by case basis, between the prefects, the clubs and the League. “
Only one match is affected for the moment: Chambly-Le Mans (L2), which will be played behind closed doors Friday evening in Beauvais in Oise, the department most affected by Covid-19. “The health of players and spectators remains our priority”, she recalled.
A board of directors is scheduled for Wednesday morning on this subject to make a point. “For us, it is responsibility and measure. We take our responsibilities but we must also keep reason”she said.
The clubs have “trust”, assured the leader who attended Tuesday morning a meeting with the Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu alongside other representatives of professional leagues and the sports movement. “It was an atmosphere of consensus, very calm”, described Boy de la Tour.
At the end of the meeting, the minister assured that the matches of L1 and Top 14 “were not subject to any particular restrictions”, specifying that the situation could evolve “case by case”.
–
