Unsurprisingly, the Professional Football League (LFP) opposed a 22-club Ligue 1 on Friday (June 19) next season. The LFP, in fact, voted unanimously (minus two abstentions) to maintaining Ligue 1 with 20 teams during a board meeting held in the morning. Amiens and Toulouse will therefore have to wait before knowing their fate: retention in the elite or relegation to Ligue 2, the most likely option, however suspended on June 9 by the Council of State after the season cut short by the coronavirus.
The resolution of the board of directors will be submitted, Tuesday, June 23, to the vote of the general assembly of the LFP (which brings together professional clubs as well as players, coaches, etc.), the legitimate body for "Change the format of the competitions organized by the LFP within the limits of the provisions of the agreement binding the LFP to the French Federation".
"A match played in advance"
Amiens, who campaigned vigorously for his retention in L1, quickly expressed his "Outrage" facing this decision, denouncing in a press release "A match played in advance". "As long as the authorities remain deaf to the legitimacy of our approach, we will exercise all the necessary means of appeal before the competent courts so that the future format of Ligue 1 is examined in accordance with the injunction of the Council of State", reacted the president of the Picard club Bernard Joannin, member in addition of the Board of directors of the LFP.
The LFP said on Friday that it had adopted its resolution following a "In-depth review of the challenges of a Ligue 1 to 20, 21 or 22 clubs on the calendar", but also "Consequences on the health of players" as well as “The distribution of audiovisual rights”.
Another meeting will serve as Amiens' last hope: the Federal Assembly of the French Football Federation (FFF) on June 26. It is she who must act the new LFP-FFF convention supposed to limit the number of teams engaged in the elite.
The LFP, already planned for next season, also took advantage of this meeting day to unveil its new visual identity, with new logos for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 and their respective partners, Uber Eats and BKT.
New season, new story, new identity! https://t.co/u8X7nvkb60
