Paris (AFP)

Professional athletes, whose contract was due to expire this summer, will be allowed, due to the exceptional circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic, to extend their engagement to be able to end the current season, said a government ordinance on Wednesday.

This decision should in particular relieve Paris SG and Olympique Lyonnais, two clubs which have several players whose contracts expire on June 30 and who are still involved in the Champions League.

The European queen competition, suspended in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is due to resume on August 12 and end on August 23 during a tournament in new format, without return matches, organized in Lisbon.

"The fixed-term employment contracts of sportspeople or professional trainers employed may be extended, by amendment, for a maximum period of six months, from the end of season date initially provided by the sports federation or, where applicable, the professional league ", it is written in the ordinance.

"This proportionate extension period will allow sportspeople and coaches on the one hand and employer clubs on the other hand to participate in competitions ending in the 2019/2020 sports season under the conditions initially provided without prejudicing free will parts ", it is added.

This government decision was particularly awaited in the world of football, where players' contracts traditionally end on June 30.

In Paris SG, for example, this thorny legal question of the end of contracts has already cut the workforce of two executives, Edinson Cavani and Thomas Meunier, who did not find an agreement to continue two more months and thus end the Champions League campaign.

The capital's club has already qualified for the quarter-finals which will take place in the Portuguese capital, after eliminating Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

Olympique Lyonnais, meanwhile, will play their return knockout round against Juventus Turin, after winning the first leg 1-0 at home on February 26. The meeting should take place on August 7 or 8 in Turin or in Portugal.

© 2020 AFP