- The finals of the European Rugby Cup, which were to take place in late May in Marseille, are postponed.
- OM, manager of the Vélodrome stadium, hopes to be able to "rewrite" these two games before the end of the 2019-2020 season, which has been very disturbed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Marseillais were delighted to attend, on May 22 and 23, the finals of the European Rugby Cups. The “big” European Cup on Saturday sold out, with 60,000 tickets sold. And the European Challenge was preparing, thanks to the Vélodrome, to beat its attendance record, with at least 35,000 spectators. But the EPCR, the governing body of European rugby, announced on Tuesday that the finals, like the semi-finals, were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The EPCR complies with the measures taken by the various public authorities concerned by its competitions in Europe to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic," said the organizer in a statement, stating that it remains "determined to complete the 2019-2020 season of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup ”, whose quarter-finals have also been shifted.
"No rush to choose the date"
"I am not a soothsayer, but the EPCR was clear: they have the will to reschedule the finals in Marseille", welcomes Martin d'Argenlieu, director of major projects at OM. The manager, reached by 20 Minutes , adds that "there will be no rush to choose the date":
We are waiting to see how the health situation evolves. It will depend on the programming of Ligue 1 and the Top 14, but since there are only three European Cup days to reschedule, it is less complicated.
"We will wait for the new Ligue 1 programming and then relocate," he continues. There is a lot of choice and with our PlayMaster hybrid lawn you can quickly link football and rugby, for example on a weekend where OM are playing outside. If the season cannot continue, it would also be possible to schedule the 2021 finals in Marseille, since London [which should host them] has not yet put tickets on sale. "
As the European rugby calendar is particularly crowded, this “worst case” scenario is credible. Not sure it pleases the London organizers very much.
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- Coronavirus
- Marseille
- Sport
- Rugby
- OM
- European rugby cup
- European Cup