France cancels season, crowned PSG champions

Paris St Germain have been awarded the Ligue 1 title after the season was ended amid the COVID-19 crisis, the French League (LFP) said on Thursday.

PSG had a 12-point lead over second-placed Olympique de Marseille when the season was suspended as part of French government’s measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus last month.
The LFP also crowned Lorient as Ligue 2 champions.

French prime minister Edouard Philippe on Tuesday said that ‘the 2019-2020 season of professional sports, including football, would not be able to resume’.

The LFP have utilised a performance index based on the number of points taken from matches played, confirming PSG as Ligue 1 champions for a third consecutive year.

LFP president Nathalie Boy de la Tour said:

We have brought an end to the 2019-20 season. PSG win the Ligue 1 title, while Lorient the Ligue 2.

This is in contrast to the Dutch Eredivisie, which also took the league table as final but did not award the championship to leaders Ajax and cancelled promotion and relegation.

Marseille have also qualified for the group stage of the Champions League, while Rennes will go into the qualification rounds. Lille and Nice will go directly into the Europa League group stage, while Reims will have to go through qualification.

However, this could change if the Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France finals go ahead as Lyon or Saint-Etienne beating PSG would send them into the Europa League at the expense of one of the Ligue 1 positions.

In terms of relegation, Toulouse were adrift at the bottom and go down after a 17-year run in the top-flight. They will be joined by Amiens, with Nimes surviving by virtue of the cancelled playoff system.

Lorient and Lens will both be returning to the top tier after their promotions were confirmed, while Le Mans join Orleans in dropping out of the second tier.