Olympique Lyon Claims Decision to Cancel Ligue 1 Should be Reversed

In a statement released on Sunday, Olympique Lyon demanded a reversal of the decision to cancel Ligue 1 in order to avoid a massive disaster for the French championship.

"How can we ensure that all French clubs can finish the year without going bankrupt? How can we compete with our foreign competitors who have wisely chosen to wait to resume their leagues? How can we prevent the gap between French football and the other top European countries from widening even further?" questioned Lyon in the statement.

For several weeks now, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has been fighting against the decision made by French football officials to cancel the remainder of the season due to the health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of now, Ligue 1 is the only major men's football league that has decided to end the season. The German Bundesliga, for example, has already set May 16th as the date for the league to resume, and the English Premier League and Spanish LaLiga intend to finish their seasons, although the exact date is yet to be determined. The return of Italian Serie A is still uncertain, although officials and clubs are working towards its comeback.

"There is still time, until May 25th, to reverse the decision and prevent a massive disaster for the French championship," warns Lyon, emphasizing the economic losses that will weaken French clubs and their loss of competitiveness compared to other European teams.

Critics of Lyon believe that the club's main objective is to secure a spot in a European competition next season, as suspending Ligue 1 has kept them in seventh place, a position they will maintain with the cancelation of the tournament, therefore missing out on the European positions.