Paris Saint-Germain’s sporting director says the Hillsborough disaster lies behind postponing a Ligue 1 fixture – even though the requested rejig benefits his club when they face Liverpool next month.
Liverpool travel to PSG on Wednesday April 8 and welcome them back to Anfield on Tuesday April 14 in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
And the Parisians have been granted their request to delay their Ligue 1 clash with Lens – originally scheduled for Saturday April 11 – so they can be fresher for the second leg.
Lens, who are a point behind PSG in the Ligue 1 title race, opposed the request but French football chiefs have given PSG their wish.
And PSG sporting director Luis Campos invoked the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 as justification, saying: ‘At first, we would have liked to play the UCL on Tuesday (April 7), then on Wednesday (April 15).
‘But Liverpool can’t play on April 15 (the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster). We had to respect their history, because it’s a tragic date for the club.’
PSG sporting director Luis Campos says that Liverpool’s refusal to play on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster lies behind their request to move a league fixture
PSG’s match against Lens – which was supposed to be between their clashes against Liverpool – has been postponed at their request
It is not unheard of for clubs to have their fixtures moved around European action. Indeed, PSG had a match against Nantes postponed between their clashes against Chelsea in the last 16, a tie they won 8-2 on aggregate.
Strasbourg, who are owned by the same group as Chelsea, requested that their game against Brest on April 12 be postponed. That match is now set to take place between their Europa Conference League quarter-final games against Mainz.
All the same, it may leave Liverpool feeling they have been dealt a rougher hand – the Reds face Fulham on the Saturday between their showdowns with PSG.
Campos also said that the better his club do in Europe, the better for French football’s UEFA coefficient.
But that explanation does not fly with Lens, who are second in Ligue 1, a point behind but having played a game more.
‘We, fundamentally, don’t agree. From the top of the pyramid, we don’t agree,’ their manager Pierre Sage said.
‘I understand that having more rest allows for better performance. They confirmed that in their match against Chelsea. They are a very successful club in several competitions. They also understand the constraints.’
Lens added in a lengthy statement: ‘In a spirit of responsibility and restraint, Racing Club de Lens informed Paris Saint-Germain, from the outset, of its intention not to have this date changed.
Liverpool remember the Hillsborough tragedy with great sadness and never play on April 15
‘True to its commitment to sporting stability, the club also chose to refrain from any public communication on this matter. However, the recent increase in public statements, interventions and various suggestions leads us today to break out of this reserve.
‘It seems to us that a worrying sentiment is taking hold: that of a French championship gradually being relegated to the status of a mere variable to be adjusted according to the European imperatives of certain parties. This is a peculiar conception of sporting fairness, the likes of which are hard to find in other major continental competitions.
‘Changing the date of this match today would mean that Racing Club de Lens would be deprived of competition for 15 days and then have to play matches every three days – a rhythm that does not correspond to that defined at the beginning of the championship, nor to the means of a club that could absorb this type of new constraint without consequence.
‘It would therefore be understood that the tenth budget of the championship should adapt to the demands of the most powerful, in the name of interests which, obviously, now exceed the domestic framework, which has already been lightened in recent seasons (L1 to 18 clubs, cessation of the League Cup).
‘Beyond this particular case, the question raised is more fundamental: that of the respect due to the competition itself. For it is legitimate to question this when, on its own soil, the championship sometimes seems relegated behind other ambitions, however legitimate they may be.
‘Racing Club de Lens remains committed to fairness, clear rules, and respect for all stakeholders. Simple principles for a fair and respected French football.’
