Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have been crowned Ligue 1 champions following the cancelation of the 2019-20 season according to Goal. It also reported that Lyon missed out on a spot in the Champions League for the first time since 1997. Earlier this month, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (French League) outlined plans to restart the campaign in June with lockdown measures in France set to be lifted on May 11. But French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe threw cold water on these plans, by insisting that such a scenario was impossible during a national assembly on Tuesday, while revealing that no sporting events will be allowed to take place until September at the earliest. Goal also reported that Amiens and Toulouse were relegated to Ligue 2, while Lorient and Lens will be promoted from the second tier. Nimes, who were 18th in Ligue 1 and set for the relegation play-offs with three teams from Ligue 2, have been given a reprieve after it was confirmed the extra matches will not be played. Didier Quillot, general director of the league, said that as far as they are concerned the 2019-20 French football season is now over, and their goal is to start the 2020-21 season no later than Aug. 22, according to Goal. He said: "There may be appeals, but our decisions are solid. We are not restarting the next championship after August, except in the event of force majeure and a new outbreak of the epidemic." However, Quillot did say they would play the finals of the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue in early August, if given permission by UEFA, which would impact qualification for the Europa League. He said: "If the finals of the Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France take place, the places in the Europa League will be allocated to their winner, if the winner is not PSG. The rule does not change." Lille, Reims and Nice looked to have booked spots in the Europa League through their league standings, however that is now subject to change. Nathalie Boy De La Tour, president of the league, said they had exhausted every possible option on resuming the league, and that this solution was the fairest in their opinion. She said: "We had worked on recovery scenarios for mid-June. We worked on the economy and treasury for the clubs, sponsorship and ticketing. We worked behind the scenes. I don't like to talk to say the least. I'm coming to you with concrete things." France have followed the example of Belgium's Jupiler Pro League and the Netherlands' Eredivisie by calling off the season, and it has been suggested that the rest of Europe's major leagues will take the same drastic steps in the coming weeks. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and general secretary Theodore Theodoridis have set a deadline for the leagues in question to submit their plans for restarting the season, having previously made it clear that their main goal is to see all schedules completed by August. A statement from European football's governing body said: "National Associations and/or Leagues should be in a position to communicate to UEFA by May 25, 2020, the planned restart of their domestic competitions — including the date of restart and the competition format." Bundesliga officials are working towards a May 9 restart, with matches set to be played behind closed doors in Germany, while La Liga clubs have been cleared to return to training on May 4 — a similar approach followed by Serie A. Meanwhile, Premier League club executives are due to meet on Friday to discuss how best to move forward in England, as the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continues to rise across Europe.
