Ligue 1: What Will French Football Look Like After COVID-19?

Sports is not a priority right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has rightfully taken its place. It is important that you follow the instructions of your local government and health institutions: even if you think that COVID-19 will not affect you, you could spread it to someone who would be affected by it. This article does not seek to belittle the ongoing pandemic, but while most of us are cooped up at home, it’s nice to be able to talk about football.

Cover: ol.fr

At the time of writing, football worldwide has faded in the background. On Tuesday afternoon, UEFA suspended European competitions and made the unprecedented move to postpone EURO 2020 to next year in the hope that the current season can conclude. France, like most of the world, is battling a pandemic that is straining health resources and personnel.

Amid all the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, the future of the 2019/2020 Ligue 1 season, like football elsewhere, has clouded over. For a few days, weeks or months, football was set to become secondary. That changed with jarring effect over the weekend, when the pandemic gave way to a polemic.

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Podcast: Episode 5 – Brazilians, Hat Tricks, and Saucy Things

It’s been an epic two weeks at Chez Lyon. Between the changes to Lyon’s hierarchy to OL Féminin’s continued domination, there’s a lot to unpack. Lucky for you, Sam (@OZOL1950), Arianna (@AScavs), Nick (@NicholasMamo), and Rabeeta (@OffsideBeet) are here to break down the appointments of Juninho and Sylvinho and what they can bring to the club, as well as OL Féminin’s extra special masterclass against Barcelona to win their 4th consecutive Women’s Champions League title.

Have a listen below! You will also find timestamps for specific topics if you’d like to jump around. If there are any topics you’d like us to cover, just tweet at any one of us, or you can send an email to LyonOffside@gmail.com.

Topics Covered:

Lyon return to their Brazilian roots

Juninho’s back! He’s even brought a friend.

Nothing more needs to be said, does it?

The new triumvirate.

Ok fine, there might be a few minor details.

Lyon tells UEFA to FEK OFF

[We might be paraphrasing a bit, but the sentiment is still valid.]

In the most unsurprising decision ever, UEFA dismissed Lyon’s latest appeal for a reduction in their punishment, which was given for terrible fan behavior during last season’s home match against CSKA Moscow.

Just guess what Lyon’s response was.

That’s right. They’re going to appeal the refusal of their appeal. Is there anything more quintessentially OL than that?

Lyon and UEFA are back at it again

If you’re already over the Lyon/UEFA love affair, I don’t blame you. The club has been appealing one thing or another since it came into existence in 1950, so the fact that they’ve been in a constant punishment/appeal cycle for the past two years doesn’t faze me at all.

We reported a month ago that UEFA reduced Lyon’s punishment to one closed match with another on probation. That was after Lyon appealed an even earlier sanction for what was pretty shitty fan behavior.

The closed match is scheduled to be Lyon’s first home match in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk on October 2nd. At this point, most clubs would shrug, accept it, and move on – that’s what Ligue 1 rivals Marseille are doing.