Paris (AFP)

"Nobody is master of the calendar". Faced with the coronavirus, the president of the French Football Federation Noël Le Graët considers it "unreasonable" to predict a date for resumption of competitions. But "finishing June 30 seems impossible," he conceded Friday in an interview with AFP.

From Guingamp where he manages his businesses and remotely fulfills his mission as patron of French football, he talks about the latest discussions with Ligue 1 clubs, the next Blues' matches and the calendar for world football.

Q: A Federation executive committee was held on Thursday. What was his agenda?

A: "It was already a question of taking stock of all the decisions that can be taken quickly. I reiterated that nobody was master of the calendar. We cannot resume competition before the State does not give the green light. Then we had to explain government measures. And then take the pulse of amateur football. It was a very constructive one hour meeting. "

Q: On the resumption of Ligue 1, many opinions have been expressed, especially among club leaders in particular. Do you regret this cacophony?

A: "Football always needs to express itself, the newspapers are also in demand. If they express themselves, it is because they are asked (laughs). But for the moment, it is quite clear : I made the decision to stop the competitions (announcement made on March 12, editor's note) immediately after the declaration by the President of the Republic. For the recovery, it is not up to us to decide. We have good reports with the Ministry of Sports, we will not resume until authorization is given. "

Q: In this context, is your mission to bring together all the families of football, despite their differences?

A: "This morning at the LFP office, there were most professional (clubs) who do not always have the same opinion. But finally we manage to find a common path. They want to play as quickly as possible but they are very understanding, they know that you cannot start a championship without authorization. Then there is the question of behind closed doors for them. Starting a competition without spectators is not the goal of the game. Today, we have to be extremely careful. I asked everyone to think for another 15 days, to take a good look at what is going on, to wait for the meetings with the departments. We cannot take a Today's decision of the type: + We will start on such a date, we will finish at the end of July +. There are obviously wishes, but nothing concrete, today it would not be reasonable. "

Q: Is it too early to target a resumption and end date for the Championship?

A: "There are recovery hypotheses: May 15 for some, June 1 or 15 for others. For still others, we will not go to the end. We must be careful what we say and listen to the state. The objective is to resume as quickly as possible, but without any health risk for our spectators and our players. "

Q: There are players at the end of the contract on June 30. How to solve this equation?

A: "Fifa, UEFA and we are in phase to back off if necessary. I believe that Philippe Piat, the players' representative, is not opposed to it. Solidarity in football exists, even if there will be maybe two or three exceptions. In any case, we realize that today, ending June 30th seems impossible. "

Q: What to remember in the long term from this crisis? Is there not a reflection to have on the saturation of the sports calendar?

A: "You are not wrong. Fifa, UEFA and the Federations will have to think about the number of matches and competitions, because by dint of creating one we are in trouble on the calendars. Players should not not play more matches than today. Fifa already wanted to launch a reflection on the calendar a month ago, it is necessary. "

Q: Perhaps this is an opportunity to make the functioning of football more virtuous, especially towards the players?

A: "Virtuous, I think it is. But it is true that the number of competitions is becoming difficult. It is difficult to protect our championships which for us, French, we are primarily interested in. We must be careful which the big clubs do not create competitions which are certainly lucrative for them, but which devalue the championships. I would also like us to take a little more account of the national teams, because the Federations in Europe and in the world live economically their matches. We have ten a year, they must be protected. "

Q: Precisely, selection football is paying the price for the crisis, with the postponement of the Men's Euro, the Copa America and the Women's Euro. Is it in danger?

A: "It shouldn't be. The schedule this year has been complicated because two international matches were scheduled in March, then two more in June. Unfortunately, it fell on the most delicate period of the virus. is not a desire on the part of UEFA and Fifa to eliminate these matches. I think the French team will play at least two if the schedules allow. "

Q: Is it still current to face Ukraine and Finland, as initially planned for the end of March?

A: "It still holds, we have agreements. There is another international grid in June, it may be slightly offset. If we don't resume the championship until the end of May, I can't see the French team playing early June. We need to talk again with UEFA and Fifa so that there are at least two dates preserved. "

Q: Have you already made any other commitments for the matches scheduled for early June in preparation for the Euro?

A: "Yes, we had contacts with other Federations, in particular with Croatia, but also with other countries not yet qualified for the Euro (the play-offs were to be played at the end of March, note)."

Interview by Jérémy TALBOT.

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