PSG have been named as the Ligue 1 title winners as the 2019-20 season in France has been officially canceled and a points per game system has been used to determine the final table in the top two leagues.
On Tuesday the prime minister of France, Edouard Philippe, banned all sporting events until September and that order includes sporting events behind closed doors.
That decision made it impossible for the 2019-20 Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 campaigns to be completed. Lorient have been named as champions of Ligue 2, France’s second tier.
Per the statement released, the French officials say the plan is to start the new 2020-21 Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 seasons by August 22-23, 2020.
The French title is PSG’s seventh Ligue 1 trophy in the last eight seasons as they continue to dominate. Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Co. had a 12-point lead atop the table and a game in hand over second-place Marseille when the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Marseille finished in second and Rennes in third, with both teams qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, while Toulouse and Amiens were relegated from Ligue 1 and Lorient and Lens promoted from Ligue 2. There is no decision on whether there will be relegation from Ligue 2.
Lille, Reims and Nice have qualified for the Europa League, with Lyon missing out on European qualification altogether.
Look, PSG were going to win the Ligue 1 title. Nobody is complaining about them being awarded the title, even though there will now be an asterisk next to this 2019-20 success, what else could the officials in charge of the league really do?
As soon as the French government canceled sporting events until September, this decision had to be made and clubs agreed to based the league table on a points per game basis. There are winners and losers, of course, but with the season canceled totally in the Netherlands and deemed null and void with no promotion or relegation, it seems like the points per game option could be fairer.
Ligue 1 was the first of Europe’s top five leagues to be canceled and all eyes will now be on the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga to see their next moves.
