Some of the French Ligue 1’s club presidents joined forces on Monday to criticise the decision in April to declare the season over due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said five week ago the campaign could not restart but Germany’s Bundesliga has resumed while Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and England’s Premier League are set to follow suit by the end of this month.

“Start of April, we were the only league among Europe’s big five to propose the restart of the season,” Nantes’ Waldemar Kita said in a statement by Premiere Ligue, a union of the league’s chiefs.

“We were ahead of time, we were mocked. We were the motor and the other countries followed us later. But unfortunately, we stayed in the same spot,” Kita added.

Lille’s Gerard Lopez said the move was “pretty brutal”.

“We keep saying that we’re trying to catch up on the other four big leagues and then we make a rod for our own backs at a key moment.

“We’re all alone. It might be in France that football is not at the same level as other countries,” he added.

Saint-Etienne’s Bernard Caiazzo, who is the head of the body, pointed the finger solely at politicians.

“We’re not responsible, those who are responsible are the Prime Minister and the government. They have information we don’t have,” Caiazzo said.

“You could ask if the government decided too quickly. Was there a discussion with the clubs? No. Was there a discussion with other countries? No,” he added.

Lyon, whose chief Jean-Michel Aulas has been vociferous since the April 30 decision with his side set to miss out on Europe next season, and relegated Amiens will challenge the decision at France’s highest administrative court on June 4.

Bottom side Toulouse are among other clubs expected to appeal.

Source:  AFP

Andre Villas-Boas will coach Marseille in the Champions League next season, the French club has rushed to announce amid mounting disquiet among fans alarmed by reports the Portuguese was set to leave after just one year in charge.

“After several discussions in recent days with Frank McCourt and Jacques-Henri Eyraud, Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed that he wants to continue working with OM next season,” the club, formally known as Olympique de Marseille (OM), told AFP on Monday.

L’Equipe, France’s main sport daily, also wrote that Villas-Boas had chosen to stay on, citing the “unanimous” support of his players and management pledges to invest in the squad as key factors in his decision.

Last week, Marseille offered Villas-Boas — whose existing deal runs until the end of next season — a two-year contract extension as doubts persisted over his future at the club following the departure of right-hand man and sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta.

Villas-Boas, 42, led the former European champions to second place behind Paris Saint-Germain in the most recent Ligue 1 season, which was ended early because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Marseille, who are owned by American tycoon Frank McCourt, are therefore set to feature in the Champions League next season, Europe’s top-tier club competition, for the first time since 2013/14.

However, the former Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur coach has expressed concern about the club’s ability to invest in new signings this summer, with experts noting that the current squad is ill-equipped for the challenges of Champions League football.

‘Ruinous management’

Confirmation that Villas-Boas — who is popular with Marseille fans — will remain in charge came just hours after supporters groups castigated the board for what they called “years of ruinous management”.

In a joint statement, fans also criticised the system of refunds for seat-holders deprived of matches after the Ligue 1 season was ended prematurely due to the coronavirus. One option proposed by the club was for ticket holders to forgo a refund and donate the money instead to help its finances.

“It seemed logical to us a month ago to give this money to the club to help it through a difficult period,” the fans wrote on Monday. “However information since then has led us to question this. It’s clear that we are in financial difficulty due to years of ruinous management.”

They added: “Is it really up to us to shore up the incompetence of our directors or the shortcomings of our players?”

After listing further grievances the letter concluded: “Management get out! Come on Marseille!”

Marseille last won the French title in 2010. On Sunday, Eyraud, the club president, announced via social media his intention to hire a “business director” and his determination to build up the club despite all the current problems.

Source: FRANCE 24 with AFP

Barcelona coach Quique Setien says he would love to coach Neymar and would be “delighted” if the Brazilian returns to the club from Paris Saint-Germain.

Barca tried to re-sign Neymar last year but were unable to agree a deal with French champions PSG, whom he joined for a world-record fee of 222 million euros ($264 million at the time) in 2017.

An agreement may even harder to strike this summer given the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic, although reportedly Barcelona could offer players in exchange.

“I would love to be able to coach him some day,” said Setien, speaking to beIN Sport on Friday night. “We are talking about an exceptional level. Fortunately I have already fulfilled one of my dreams, which was to coach (Lionel) Messi but I would be delighted if Neymar comes.”

Neymar previously formed a successful attacking trio with Luis Suarez and Messi at Barcelona but the future of Suarez is uncertain.

The 33-year-old has not played since January when he underwent surgery on an injury to his right knee, and Setien admitted he needs more time to regain full fitness with La Liga due to restart from its coronavirus-enforced suspension in the middle of next month.

Asked if Suarez was fully fit, Setien said: “No, I think he’s in a good condition and has been working with the group. But we see that he lacks a bit of confidence.

“He underwent an operation and after two months I would say he’s still recovering. But it’s clear that soon (he will be ready), I don’t know whether it will be two, three or four weeks.”

Barcelona sit top of the table, two points ahead of Real Madrid.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has said the preferred date for the season to resume is June 12 but the restart will depend on the Spanish health authorities.

Source: AFP

Milan’s San Siro stadium is closer to being demolished after Italy’s heritage authority found that the iconic stadium cannot be protected for cultural or historic reasons.

“The property named ‘Giuseppe Meazza Stadium (San Siro) has no cultural interest and as such is excluded from the protection provisions,” the Lombardy region of Italy’s cultural heritage ministry wrote in a report, according to the AGI news agency.

AC Milan and Inter Milan, who share the stadium to the west of the city, have launched their bid to knock down the San Siro and build a new 60,000-capacity home on the same site.

City authorities have been divided over the project and requested the opinion of Italy’s heritage authorities.

The report found that as the San Siro has undergone continuous transformation since being built in 1926, with only a small part of the original stadium remaining, it would not be subject to protection.

Although approval from Italy’s heritage body is not the final decision, it could be an important step towards both teams’ hope of redeveloping the site.

The clubs want to build a new ground adjacent to the current San Siro, while the old stadium would make way for an area “dedicated to sports, entertainment, and shopping”.

The two clubs presented their projects last September and estimated that it would require an investment of 1.2 billion euros ($1.34 billion).

Milan Mayor Guiseppe Sala insists he wants to renovate the existing stadium so that it could celebrate its centenary in 2026 by hosting the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics that year.

Both clubs are former European giants with AC Milan having won the Champions League seven times while Inter were the last Italian team to win the European title, when they lifted the trophy for the third time in 2010.

Neither have won the Serie A title since AC Milan triumphed in 2011.

Source: AFP

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has joked that his biggest lesson from the coronavirus lockdown is just how outspoken former Manchester United defender Gary Neville can be.

In his role as a television pundit, Neville has vented on a range of issues related to the Premier League and the health crisis.

The former England international has criticised Premier League chiefs for being slow to give updates on their restart plans.

He also took issue with the government’s call for players to take wage cuts during the pandemic and let rip on a host of other subjects.

Klopp could not resist a good-natured jibe at Neville when asked what his lockdown experience had been like.

“I didn’t learn a lot in lockdown, other than Gary Neville has an opinion about absolutely everything. It is incredible,” Klopp told the BBC’s Football Focus programme.

Liverpool were two wins away from winning the English title for the first time in 30 years when the Premier League was postponed on March 13.

The league hopes to resume in mid-June and players are already returning to training while observing strict social-distancing rules.

Klopp has been in touch with Liverpool’s squad, but he admitted it had been hard to go so long without seeing them in person.

“I am quite proud how we as a society have dealt with it,” he said. “We are not perfect. We will always make mistakes but I think we have learned how connected we are to each other.

“I miss the boys the most because we created a group where all the people at Melwood (training ground) have a really good relationship and we became friends over the last four-and-a-half years.

“We saw each other with Zoom and other calls but it is still not the same. Going back to Melwood and doing the things we usually do is something I really miss.”

Source:  AFP

France defender Samuel Umtiti has picked up a calf injury in just the second session since Barcelona returned to training from the cornonavirus quarantine, the Spanish champions announced on Saturday.

Barca said that Umiti picked up an injury to his right calf during Saturday’s training session at the club’s Joan Gamper facility, but did not specify how long the 26-year-old would be out for.

Spanish media report that he will be unavailable for two or three weeks, so will likely be back in time for a potential June 20 restart for football in Spain as the country attempts to loosen coronavirus restrictions.

The 26-year-old Umtiti joined Barca from Lyon in 2016 after he helped France to the final of Euro 2016. He had further success with France in their successful 2018 World Cup campaign.

He played 16 times for the Catalan giants this season before play was suspended in March, and was twice injured earlier in the campaign, causing him to miss 10 matches between September and November last year.

Barca returned to training at the club’s facility on Friday after almost two months on lockdown in defence against a virus that has killed over 26,0000 in Spain.

Footballers in Spain restarted training following the announcement last week of a government plan that aims to end quarantine for professional players.

Individual training sessions are the first step to what La Liga hopes will be a return to action in June that will complete the 2019-20 season behind closed doors.

Source: AFP

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has been hospitalized in Amsterdam, and is in stable condition after undergoing a heart procedure.

Koeman wasn’t feeling well on Sunday after a bike ride, and felt chest pain before being rushed to hospital by ambulance. Fortunately, he did not suffer any serious harm as the surgery went well, and he should be able to return home on Monday.

The Dutch Football Association showed support for the 57-year-old on Twitter and said things are going better again.

Koeman was appointed Netherlands manager in 2018, and has enjoyed a successful spell in charge of his country so far. He took the Dutch National Team to the final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League and guided them to qualify for Euro 2020, which has been postponed to next year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Presstv

France’s football league declared the season over on Thursday, with Paris Saint-Germain named as Ligue 1 champions.

PSG led the table by 12 points from Marseille when the season was suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak, which has gone on to kill more than 24,000 people in France.

The announcement by the LFP comes after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that “professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart” because of the risks linked to the pandemic.

“There is no ambiguity about this declaration. We needed to make a final decision about this season. We acknowledge that the 2019-20 season is over,” said LFP president Nathalie Boy de la Tour, in a conference call with reporters.

Ruling out any possibility of following the lead of the Netherlands, who decided to void their season without a champion, relegation or promotion, the LFP said a final table was arranged on the basis of average points per game.

Ten rounds of matches remained when the campaign was halted, although PSG and Strasbourg both had a game in hand.

As a result, Marseille and Rennes will go into the Champions League next season, while fourth-placed Lille will play in the Europa League.

Toulouse and Amiens, the bottom two, are condemned to relegation, with Lorient and Lens coming up from Ligue 2.

The identity of the other European representatives depends on whether the finals of the two domestic cups are ever played.

Large gatherings of people remain banned in France until September.

However, if the French government and UEFA accept, both cup finals could yet be staged in August with European places still up for grabs.

PSG were due to play Lyon in the League Cup final and Saint-Etienne in the French Cup final. If the games are played, Lyon and Saint-Etienne would qualify for the Europa League by winning.

Lyon — seventh in the table when the season was stopped — would otherwise miss out on European qualification for the first time in over two decades.

 AFP

Manchester United have been granted permission to install 1,500 safe-standing seats for use in a trial when Old Trafford is opened again to supporters.

The use of barrier seating has been approved following a change in regulations and a feasibility study carried out by the club.

Fans are not expected to be permitted to attend matches for at least a number of months with English football indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Even when matches do return, they will likely take place behind closed doors for the forseeable future.

However, United insist work can be carried out on the project whilst respecting social distancing guidelines to ensure it is ready for when fans can return.

“It may seem strange to talk about stadium plans at this time, but football and our fans will return when it is safe, and our preparations for that must continue in the background,” said United’s managing director Richard Arnold.

“This announcement is the latest step in what has been a long journey with our fans.

“We have listened to their feedback, in particular, the representations made by MUST (Manchester United Supporters’ Trust), and worked with Trafford Council to develop and approve this proposal.”

Arnold added that the barrier seats can enhance spectator safety in areas of the ground where fans persistently stand anyway and that the trial could be extended to other areas of the stadium.

“We will now move on to develop the installation, compliance and licensing plan for the trial, with a view to having the new seats installed for when we can welcome our supporters back to Old Trafford,” said Arnold.

All-seater stadiums have been mandatory in the top two tiers of English football since 1994/95, following recommendations on stadium safety made in the Taylor Report, which was commissioned after 96 people died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

But there has been a renewed push in recent years for safe standing to be brought into the top levels of English football with United set to follow fellow Premier League clubs Tottenham and Wolves in installing rail seating.

Source:  AFP

Chelsea players are in extensive talks with the club over a potential 10 percent pay cut amid the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Blues director Marina Granovskaia is leading the discussions on the club side with captain Cesar Azpilicueta representing the first-team squad.

If Chelsea can convince their players to take a 10 percent pay cut, it will save the club between 8 and 10 million pounds in the financial fight against the pandemic.

Premier League players have come under huge pressure to accept pay cuts or deferrals during the pandemic, but the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has refused a 30 percent pay cut proposed by the Premier League.

Source: Presstv