Paris (AFP)

The Council of State rejected Friday the appeals of Lyon, Amiens, Ajaccio, Troyes and Clermont against the premature end of the seasons of L1 and L2, decided last March in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The remainder of the conclusions for annulment of the decision of April 30, 2020 of the board of directors of the Professional Football League and the conclusions of the requests for annulment of the decisions of June 23, 2020 of the general assembly of the LFP, of June 26, 2020 of the federal assembly of the French Football Federation and of June 26, 2020 of the board of directors of the LFP are rejected, "said the highest French administrative body.

These appeals had been introduced by Lyon, which considered itself unfairly deprived of the European Cup after the premature end of Ligue 1, by Amiens, deprived of a chance of remaining in the elite and Ajaccio, Troyes and Clermont, deprived of L1 accession play-offs.

In these decisions, detailed over sixteen pages, the Council of State explained about the decision of April 30 to prematurely end the season in the context of a health emergency that "the Board of Directors of the LFP was legally able to estimate that it was necessary to derogate from the regulations of the championships that the League organizes by interrupting the competitions before the normal end of the season ".

Among the arguments developed, the Council of State underlined that the decision to stop the classification after 73% of the matches of the season played (that is to say 28 days practically finished), "is not vitiated by manifest error of assessment , including with regard to the objective of fairness and integrity in sports competitions ", while recognizing that" other solutions were possible ".

Regarding the absence of play-offs for accession to L1, "it does not appear that the League would have made a manifestly erroneous assessment," notes the Council of State.

"By opting to maintain 20 Ligue 1 clubs for the 2020-2021 season, despite the economic and sporting consequences for the clubs relegated at the end of a season interrupted prematurely, the French Federation and the League have not disregarded the principle of equality nor committed a manifest error of assessment, in view of the uncertainties about the evolution of the health situation, ”the text continues.

The Council of State also stressed about the appeal of Olympique Lyonnais, 7th at the time of the stop of the L1 and very virulent in its opposition to the decisions taken by the LFP and the FFF, that "contrary to what is supported, the allegation according to which this choice would have been motivated by the will to penalize the club of Olympique Lyonnais is not established ".

© 2020 AFP