French Ligue 1 Postponed Resumption date as four Player Test Positive to Coronavirus
The opening match of the 2020-21 French Ligue 1 top-flight season has been postponed after four players in Marseille tested positive to coronavirus. Marseille was supposed to host Saint-Etienne on Friday in the first of eight-weekend fixtures in French Ligue 1 but after the discovery the management has decided to postponed the resumption date.
The 2019-20 campaign terminated prematurely in April and Paris Saint Germain was awarded the trophy because they were topping the league with 12 points clear second place Marseille. According to reports, the game between Marseille and Saint-Etienne will now be played on either 16 or 17 September.
The French Ligue 1 told clubs last week their protocol for dealing with coronavirus meant more than three positive cases at a club was likely to lead to a postponement. Marseille’s former Aston Villa defender Jordan Amavi tested positive last week, with another three players following in the latest round.
They cancelled a friendly against German side Stuttgart in the wake of Amavi’s positive test. Marseille, who are managed by former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas, finished runners-up to PSG in last season’s shortened campaign. Last week, France was added to a list of countries from which those arriving in the UK are required to quarantine for two weeks. The league will, however, resume but all coronavirus protocols will taken into consideration.