Amiens and Toulouse are relieved: these two clubs, respectively 19th and 20th in Ligue 1 at the time of the end of the season due to the coronavirus, will be able to remain in the elite of French football in 2020-2021. So decided the Council of State on Tuesday, which also rejected Lyon's request to resume the current season. "On a practical level, taking into account this ordinance, Amiens is a Ligue 1 club", satisfies Me Olivier Martin, lawyer of the club at the Council of State, at the microphone of Europe 1, Wednesday.
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In its order, the administrative court enjoins the Professional Football League to find a way, by June 30, to organize next season with this new deal. Are we going to attend a championship made up of 22 clubs in 2020-2021? "The ball is in the court of the authorities," said Olivier Martin, who asked that "solutions be found quickly" to "plan for the next season" as soon as possible.
"Storm in a glass of water"
The lawyer for the Picard club advocates an enlarged championship for next season, before going back to 20 clubs in 2020-2021: "Objectively, this is the most pragmatic solution possible", he defends. It also sweeps away the "false excuse" of sports logistics that are too complicated to manage. "It is a storm in a glass of water. It is perfectly possible to organize this calendar. It is four more matches per team, in one season," he explains, arguing that the removal acted of the League Cup frees up "slots" for matches in the depths of winter.
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"Playing two more during a season in Ligue 1, if that can save everyone, I find that the remedy is not expensive paid," he concludes. Amiens and Toulouse in "draft", Lorient and Lens on promotion: Ligue 1 will she know a new exercise in a few months? Answer, at the latest, in three weeks.