There was no doubt about the decision, but it had not been formalized. The UNFP trophies, notably rewarding the best player of the season in Ligue 1, will not be awarded at the end of the 2019-2020 season, terminated prematurely due to the coronavirus pandemic, announced the players' union on Tuesday 19 May.
The heart of French professional football is neither to party nor to individual rewards in this period of crisis. This is why the organizers decided unanimously: there will be no @UNFP Football Trophy Ceremony in 2020.
▶ ️https: //t.co/VOuwm3QD9f pic.twitter.com/qN5G4yyFfO
"Beyond a shortened season and the difficulties - even the impossibility - of organizing the traditional gala evening with regard to sanitary provisions, the heart of French professional football is today neither at the party, nor to the individual rewards in this period of crisis, "explains the National Union of Professional Footballers.
This year's gala was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 17.
"The vacant prize list for the 2020 edition will make it possible to underline the selflessness of the nursing staff and of all those who have, in the last two months, served in the service of all of our society", she continues.
There is therefore no successor this year to Kylian Mbappé, named in May 2019 best player and best hope of the championship of France.
An election made complicated
The event also crowned Lille's Mike Maignan and Christophe Galtier as best goalkeeper and best coach. The Lyon midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsan had received the prize for the best player in D1, that of the best hope going to the Parisian striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto.
The trophies, awarded each year during a televised ceremony, are awarded after a physically organized vote with the players playing in French clubs. The stopping of competitions since mid-March made the holding of this election impossible.
This season, six players have been honored with the honorary title awarded each month: Rennais Eduardo Camavinga (August), Lille Victor Osimhen (September), Parisian Thiago Silva (October), Lyonnais Jeff Reine-Adélaïde (November), the Monegasque Wissam Ben Yedder (December) and the Parisian Neymar (January), favorite for the 2020 trophy.
With AFP
The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribeTake international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_FR