⚽️ ⚽️ Paris Saint-Germain ⚽️ ⚽️
PSG is not in first place in Ligue 1 right now, despite having a chance to knock off the team that currently does reside there this past weekend.
Indeed, PSG had to settle for a 1-1 tie against the team that is threatening to prevent PSG from reaching the top of the rankings.
However, Ligue 1 has some bigger troubles that it has to deal with now. This was an issue that, admittedly, I was not aware of until encountering this article that I attached a link to (see link below).
This has been the result of massive mishandling at the top levels. As Adam White and Eric Devin of The Guardian write in a recent article:
Among Europe’s major leagues, Ligue 1 is in a unique financial position. Whereas other divisions resumed their paused campaigns in June or July and continued to enjoy weighty TV deals to help them negate the loss of matchday revenue, French football instead managed to palm the big red button marked “self-destruct” on two occasions.
French footballing authorities unnecessarily halted the 2019-20 season due to a supposed misunderstanding between Uefa and the Minister for Sports, robbing clubs of crucial TV income. Then the LFP failed to carry out due diligence on an incoming TV rights deal with Spanish broadcaster Mediapro. That hugely profitable arrangement, seen as a mitigating influence when last season was stopped, evaporated last week to leave the league without a domestic rights holder. Without ticket sales, a shortfall in last season’s TV money and no new TV partner as yet, Ligue 1 clubs face genuine financial ruin.
Apparently, the Covid-19 crisis has hit the French league harder than it has other leagues around Europe, and it is facing a serious impending crisis. With no revenue from fans attending games, and a lack of television deals, there has been a lack of funds coming in. Some teams are really hurting, and the president of one Ligue 1 franchise, Nimes, has already stated that he would not be able to pay the players their salaries by March if a new deal cannot be reached.
Not the usual sports headlines, to be sure.
Here is the link to the article that I used in writing this particular blog entry, and from which I obtained the quotes used above:
Lille are still top of Ligue 1 despite boardroom chaos By Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football News, December 21, 2020:
Lille lost their owner this week but their draw against PSG maintained their position at the top of the league
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/21/ligue-1-leaders-lille-title-relegated-psg
Hopefully that will be resolved sooner than later.
ReplyDeleteYeah, let's hope that they find a solution soon. Frankly, if they are the only major European league to have these particular issues, it doesn't speak well for their lack of foresight and organization.
DeleteAgreed, even if COVID threw everyone for a loop. I don't recall any part of the western world having to deal with a pandemic in my lifetime – until this year they always seemed to occur thousands and thousands of miles away. But the decision to cancel the rest of the 2019-2020 season does seem premature with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. There's talk of a vaccine. For reasons that obviously transcend sports, here's hoping that results in a return to some semblance of normalcy before too long.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I'll drink to that.
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