Paris (AFP)

The Football League has drawn up a health protocol for welcoming the public validated by the authorities, said Didier Quillot, executive director general of the LFP, on Tuesday, saying he hoped for prefectural exemptions to go beyond the maximum level of 5,000 people, confirmed Tuesday.

The ban on gatherings of more than 5,000 people will be extended until October 30, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Tuesday during a trip to Montpellier, while confirming that case-by-case exemptions may be decided by the authorities. prefects.

It is this possibility that the LFP wishes to explore, supported by its protocol for welcoming the public which provides for "the wearing of the compulsory mask inside the stadium, the respect of barrier gestures and distancing as well as hygiene devices individual and collective ". This document has been validated by the Interministerial Crisis Committee (CIC), she said.

"I renew the wish to have as many people as possible in the stadiums," Didier Quillot said in a statement sent to AFP.

"The health protocol that has been validated by the CIC will allow the reception of the public in the stadiums, and the clubs to request exemptions from the prefects to exceed the tonnage of 5,000 people in strict compliance with this health protocol," he said. -he adds.

While the new Ligue 1 season is due to start on August 21 and Ligue 2 on August 22, the LFP has also sent the clubs a "medical protocol for resuming the championships" for the players and their staff, established in conjunction with the French federation (FFF).

"This protocol was sent to the CIC which will give its opinion this Friday", specifies Didier Quillot, who also announces the creation of a National Covid-19 Commission, composed of doctors, "to support the clubs and the LFP" and ensure "the link with the medical authorities and the public authorities".

The maintenance of the maximum capacity of 5,000 spectators in the stadiums at the resumption of the championships, with possible exemptions, comes in a context of recrudescence of the Covid-19 which announces a difficult comeback for the French professional clubs.

If football can count on the comfortable revenues of television rights, ticketing revenues take on increased importance after five months of forced hiatus.

© 2020 AFP