There are currently only eight matches on the program for the 20th day this weekend: after Angers - Saint-Etienne, postponed from December 31 and rescheduled to Wednesday January 26 (7:00 p.m.), the trip from Lorient to the North will not take place on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. as planned, because the Hakes deplore twelve players in isolation, in addition to two members of the technical staff.

The competitions commission of the Professional Football League (LFP) therefore followed its medical protocol which allows to postpone the matches of teams unable to field 20 capable players, including a goalkeeper, from an official list of 30 declared, i.e. from of 11 players affected.

Also because of the virus, the LFP also announced the postponement of three Ligue 2 matches this weekend, Caen-Niort, Dunkirk-Paris FC and Amiens-AC Ajaccio, initially scheduled for Saturday.

Two other matches are pending.

Troyes announced Thursday evening that it had detected 13 positive cases in its workforce and requested the postponement of its match in Montpellier on Sunday (3 p.m.).

The Trojan striker Yoann Touzghar (3rd g), congratulated by his teammates, after scoring at home against Montpellier, during the 6th day of Ligue 1, September 19, 2021 at the Stade de l'Aube FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI AFP / Archives

Bordeaux enraged

As for Bordeaux-Marseille, supposed to open the day Friday (9:00 p.m.), it is the subject of a postponement request from the Bordelais, who have counted 21 positive players over the last three weeks.

But the LFP recognized only eight recent positive cases, allowing, for the moment, the maintenance of the meeting.

What to enrage sports director Admar Lopes: "Among the players who resumed Wednesday, six are still positive and have symptoms," he said.

"According to League protocol, they can play, but according to our doctor they are not physically able."

The Girondins had already railed in recent days against the maintenance of their previous match, in the Coupe de France, despite a giant cluster in their ranks.

With a rejuvenated team because deprived of many players, Bordeaux lost 3-0 on the lawn of Brest on Sunday.

The young goalkeeper Davy Rouyard with an experimental team from Bordeaux logically beaten in Brest, in the Coupe de France, January 2, 2022 JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER AFP / Archives

These postponements, if they multiply, risk complicating the task of the LFP to reschedule these matches while some clubs, such as Lille, remain in contention in European competitions and have few fallback dates.

100 positive players since Christmas

In one week, two L1 matches were therefore postponed, while no meeting had to be postponed for nearly a year for health reasons.

According to a count made by AFP with clubs, at least 100 Ligue 1 players have tested positive since Christmas ... And yet, until the implementation of a new health protocol by the LFP on Tuesday, the clubs were not required to test their vaccinated players before matches.

But faced with the new Omicron variant and new government measures, a test is now imposed on all players, even vaccinated, 48 hours before each meeting.

This could multiply the cases on Friday, because six matches are scheduled for Sunday ...

Among them, the Lyon-Paris SG shock (8:45 p.m.) is not immune to the virus: if Lionel Messi, positive during the holidays, was able to return to Paris after a negative test, Gianluigi Donnarumma was infected, announced on Tuesday. PSG.

And Angel Di Maria could follow, according to several media.

Italian PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma warming up before facing FC Bruges in the Champions League on December 7, 2021 at Parc des Princes FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives

Other competitions are disrupted by the Covid-19 in Europe, with the postponement of the English League Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Arsenal, initially scheduled for Thursday, and the withdrawal of four Italian teams for the 20th day on Thursday.

© 2022 AFP