France's Ligue 1 cancellation row goes to country's highest court

The legal battle against the decision to end the Ligue 1 season will go to France’s highest administrative court, with Lyon leading the charge to overturn the ruling.

Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 were cancelled at the end of April after the French government banned all sporting events, including those held behind closed doors, until September.

Paris Saint-Germain were subsequently awarded the title on a points-per-game basis, with Amiens and Toulouse both relegated from the top division.

Appeals by Lyon, Amiens and Toulouse were last week rejected by a Paris court, which ruled that the decision to end the season could only be challenged before the State Council, the highest administrative court in France.

Jean-Michel Aulas, the Lyon president, has written an open letter to France’s prime minister and sports minister, urging them to reconsider the decision as other major leagues across Europe prepare to return to action in the coming weeks.

The cancellation of the season meant that Lyon finished in seventh place in Ligue 1, outside of the qualification places for European competition. Lyon are currently midway through their last-16 Champions League tie against Juventus, having won the first leg 1-0 in February.

Aulas has said the decision to end the season could create losses of up to 900 million euros for French clubs as he cited progress made in other countries as evidence the league could still resume.

The next phase of France’s move away from lockdown begins on June 2, with Aulas saying that date presents the French government with an opportunity to “rectify the error” of curtailing the season.

“June 2 will allow the organisation of the relaxation of lockdown, to bring into line the decisions relating to collective worship, horse racing or even the next municipal elections,” Aulas wrote.

“Many developments and hopes are expected on this date for France to finally regain a positive dynamic.

“Could we imagine that June 2 is also a great opportunity to rectify the error concerning French football and allow, with a health protocol used everywhere, to give the starting point for a gradual resumption of training and, why not, a resumption of the 2019-20 league season in the months of July or August?”

The move to end the season caused confusion and anger among clubs and players across the French game, with one source telling Telegraph Sport it was clear that the decision was “rushed”.

Bernard Joannin, the president of Amiens, said earlier this month that their relegation from Ligue 1 was “unjust” and that they had been “forced into fighting” the ruling.

And Olivier Sadrian, the president of Toulouse, has complained that there were “more than 30 points in play” when the season was brought to a close.

Meanwhile there have been similar issues in Holland, where sporting events have been banned until September at the earliest.

AZ Alkmaar have written to Uefa in a bid to overturn the Dutch football association’s decision to award Ajax the country’s only automatic qualification place for next season’s Champions League.

AZ, who were second in the Eredivisie, only trailed leaders Ajax on goal difference when the season was suspended.