Lens were opposed to moving the Ligue 1 game
The top two sides will now play on 13 May
Paris Saint-Germain’s visit to Lens, potentially a crucial encounter in the Ligue 1 title race, has been postponed to give PSG more time to prepare for their Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool.
The match between the top two teams in France’s top division – PSG lead Lens by a point – was scheduled for 11 April but will now take place on 13 May, three days before the final round of fixtures.
Lens had pushed back against PSG’s request for the game to be moved. The Ligue de Football Professionnel said: “These decisions are in line with the board of directors’ clear strategic aim of enabling France to retain its fifth place in the Uefa coefficient rankings, which secures four places in the Champions League.”
On Monday, Lens said: “It seems to us, in fact, that a worrying sentiment is taking hold: that of a French league gradually being relegated to the status of an adjustment variable at the whim of certain parties’ European imperatives.”
PSG face Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Parc de Princes on 8 April. The second leg takes place at Anfield six days later.
Strasbourg’s visit to Brest, scheduled for 12 April, has also been moved to 13 May to help them prepare for their Europa Conference League last-eight games with Mainz.
