Lyon (AFP)
The idea of a "white season" put forward by Jean-Michel Aulas, which aroused an outcry, was only "a hypothesis" in this case Ligue 1 could not go to its end, defended himself Sunday the Lyon Olympics.
Lyon evokes "a media surge around a question taken out of context", asked by the newspaper Le Monde Friday to the leader of Lyon about the future of the Championship, suspended until further notice due to the epidemic of coronavirus.
The idea of canceling the season started, advantageous for his club which could thus re-qualify for the Champions League, was massively rejected by French football. The president of the Federation Noël Le Graët notably judged this outing "ridiculous, stupid, awkward and not adapted to what is happening today".
"If ever this situation should arise, it is for the whole family of French football to come together to decide the best decision to take based on case law," said the club in a statement.
"They will have to comply with the general interest and the regulations of the League and the Federation. It will be time to look, if this scenario presents itself, what will be the consequences for each other", continues OL, currently 7th in the championship, outside European places.
Jean-Michel Aulas' concern was "to be concerned above all with the health of the players and all the players in the competition", assures the club.
OL reminds that it can still qualify for the Europa League by winning the League Cup against Paris SG. He also remains in the Champions League race with a round of 16 return to play against Juventus (1-0 first leg victory).
Saturday evening, Aulas had already specified on Canal + that it "obviously" wanted to end the current exercise. "I did not hide the opportunity to finish the championship at all. The question was what would happen if the championship was not finished," he defended himself.
© 2020 AFP