INTERVIEW
All Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 football matches have been suspended until further notice due to the coronavirus epidemic. A radical decision by the French Football Federation following the announcements of Emmanuel Macron on Thursday March 12. Philippe Piat, president of the International Federation of Professional Football Associations, welcomes the decision of the football authorities at the microphone of Europe 1, which nevertheless raises many questions, particularly economic ones.
Player concern
"We participated in the league meeting ourselves to find a solution to the problem of the coronavirus. One solution would have been to continue the championship behind closed doors, another to cancel it and another to postpone it. relations that we had with the clubs, which evolved with the reality of the propagation, one felt a concern of the players going up ", tells Philippe Piat. "They were afraid of the epidemic consequences and wanted the games to be postponed."
Towards a postponement of the Euro?
A fair decision, according to him, but which poses two problems for European competitions: "The end of the competition of the current Champion's League, since the knockout stages have been played, and the holding of the European competition which was scheduled for June ... One can imagine that Tuesday the UEFA which will meet will push back the Euro of one year for 2021. And to find solutions to arrive at the end of the Champion's league 2019-2020 ".
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This is in any case what is hoped for, but without certainty because the epidemic is progressing rapidly. "Today we are in the middle of the ford to know how it will happen," concedes the president of the Federation. "We are waiting until Tuesday for UEFA to make a decision, and then we can try to find solutions compatible with the epidemic, and the theoretical obligations to finish the championship - because there are important consequences."
What economic consequences?
These consequences are essentially economic, for the clubs but also for the players, in particular for L2. Will televisions be willing to pay fees for canceled games? "This question was on the table. Were we postponing the matches or canceling them? If the matches were to be canceled, the broadcasters would probably have to say 'we're not going to pay for a service we can't use '... "
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As for Ligue 2 players, it cannot be excluded that they will still be paid even if they do not play: "We can imagine that the situation which will follow will also be taken into account like the others economic sectors of the country, "reassures Philippe Piat. Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday the massive establishment of partial unemployment for employees forced to stay at home.