Postponing games and invoking Hillsborough - PSG are shameless! Ligue 1 is making a mockery of itself with special treatment for Champions League holders

Ligue 1 cut its number of teams from 20 to 18 from the start of the 2023-24 season, following through on a decision that had been made in 2021. There were various reasons cited, including reducing the number of sides with nothing to play for and to increase competitiveness, though the chief explanation was in regards to fixture congestion, particularly off the back of the pile-up brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Given each team now only plays 34 Ligue 1 games a season, there are more gaps in the domestic calendar for matches to be played if there is a postponement. Initially, the LFP - French football's governing body - decided it would begin rearranging matches to afford every team still in Europe during the knockout stages further rest.

With Ligue 1 desperate for its clubs to perform better in Europe and improve their UEFA coefficient up against the other 'Big 5' leagues, it was an idea that made sense in some ways, but left the division's other teams in uproar, claiming they have been forgotten about in the grand scheme of it all. At the time of the first rounds of postponements in April 2024, Le Havre were fighting a relegation battle and had their own games as well as their rivals' moved around, and club president Jean-Michel Roussier unleashed his fury at PSG for their part in these changes.

"I've constructed a text to send to Ligue 1 to express how I feel seeing PSG make fun of our league, they're taking the p*ss out of people," Roussier said. Then-Nantes manager Antoine Kombouare concurred with Roussier, chiming in with: "The LFP wants to protect clubs in European competitions but, at the same time, you can’t weaken sides playing for survival. I think the league should protect the league; European competition comes after."

PSG's clash with Club World Cup conquerors Chelsea was billed as one of the most exciting match-ups prior to the last 16 of this season's Champions League kicking off. In the end, it proved to be a very one-sided affair, with the kings of Europe inflicting their opponents' worst-ever aggregate loss in European competition, pummelling them 8-2 across two legs.

The general consensus is Chelsea are simply inferior to PSG and last summer's Club World Cup final, which ended 3-0 to the Blues, was not an accurate reflection of the levels of the two teams, but perhaps this tie wasn't either. In between their 5-2 loss at Parc des Princes on a Wednesday and 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge the following Tuesday, Liam Rosenior's men had to slug it out with an uber-competitive Newcastle United side on the Saturday evening. PSG, meanwhile, had the weekend off.

The manner of Chelsea's thrashing meant there were very few complaints emanating from west London in the aftermath, but it's hard to believe that this extra rest PSG enjoyed didn't play a part in the wide margin of victory. 

There's also a great irony in that while PSG are the only common denominator of benefitting from Ligue 1's fixture amendments in the last three seasons, Chelsea's sister club Strasbourg have also received some help having reached the quarter-finals of the Conference League, thus removing any potential backlash from the BlueCo consortium who own both teams. 

Don't expect Liverpool to be silenced in the same way, though.

PSG's ability to have Ligue 1 games be called off has largely been treated with indifference and an 'it is what it is'. They usually still run away with the title and it's still up to every other team to get in line.

This time is different. Lens, the underdog club from a city of around 32,000 people, have pushed the capital club all the way this season. There is currently only one point between the two, though table-topping PSG do still have the game in hand left to play from the weekend between their Chelsea victories.

Understandably, Lens were not happy with the process of a huge title showdown, initially slated for April 11, being moved. A statement on Monday read: "It appears that a worrying trend is taking shape: that the French league is being relegated to a mere variable that can be adjusted to the European demands of certain clubs. This is unsportsmanlike and it's difficult to find an equivalent idea in the other major European leagues.

"Changing the date of this match today would mean that Racing Club de Lens would not play competitively for 15 days, and would then have to play matches every three days. It's a schedule that is not in keeping with the one that was set at the start of the season, and it does not work for a club who cannot deal with these new constraints without consequence."

PSG's sporting advisor Luis Campos fanned the flames of controversy this week when he claimed the club would not have made their request to Ligue 1 had their Champions League fixtures fallen on Tuesday, April 7 and Wednesday, April 15, rather than Wednesday, April 8 and Tuesday, April 14. He acknowledged that Liverpool would never have allowed this as the club do not play on April 15 out of respect for the Hillsborough disaster on its anniversary, thus leaving PSG with no choice but to go to Ligue 1 instead.

Yes, he really said this. Campos told RMC Sport: "Initially, we would have liked to play the Champions League on Tuesday, then on Wednesday. But since Liverpool cannot play on April 15 we respected Liverpool's history because it is a tragic date for the club. 

"Our idea has always been to defend not only PSG but also French football in the current context of the fifth-place finish. Ligue 1 is in a position to lose its fifth place [for European football], and that will pose problems not only for PSG but for all French teams.

"The best decision is to play [against Lens] on another date. PSG's position is very clear and the result of a great deal of thought from all of us regarding the advantages and disadvantages that this brings, not only to PSG, but to French football. At the same time, I have to tell you that we have nothing against Lens. It would be the same with any other team."

Campos has tried to spin the Hillsborough line as a sign of respect from PSG, but instead it feels as if they are using Liverpool traditions to justify their own selfish needs.

What gets lost in the debate over PSG and Ligue 1's meddling is professional football definitely does have a fixture congestion problem. The intensity and energy needed to play nowadays has lapped the modern science which is trying to prevent injuries and fatigue. The only solution appears to be cutting down the number of games and increasing periods of rest.

PSG's case in particular does lend itself to the necessity of spreading fixtures out. They played 65 games in 2024-25, inclusive of the Club World Cup which significantly ate into their pre-season for this campaign. To date, they've already played in 43 matches in 2025-26.

If PSG were using their position as the most influential club in French football and among the heavy-hitters across all of Europe to try and improve the conditions of the sport, then the world would potentially be more forgiving of this finagling. They haven't even tried to go down that route, however. 

The disparity between themselves and the rest of Ligue 1 remains enormous, while they can often field second-string sides which are good enough to roll over most other teams in the division when their matches aren't getting called off. It is a purposely selfish ploy designed to increase their chances of winning the Champions League while the rest of the continent busts their balls trying to keep up with their endeavours. 

We can admire Luis Enrique for his tactics, Ousmane Dembele for his reinvention, Vitinha for his playmaking and the rest of PSG's superstars for the incredible football they play - while also knocking them for gaining an unfair advantage over the competition. They don't have to be ideas at odds with one another.

The questions over the footballing calendar will remain valid for years to come, but the business end of the season is supposed to feel hectic. It's no surprise PSG's last two Champions League campaigns have had a Benjamin Button feel, struggling early on when they can't get Ligue 1 matches postponed but thriving later down the line when the runway to European success has been cleared for them.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has consistently hit out at the manic schedule his side have had to put up with this season. When he's next put in front of a microphone, expect him to have some choice words about his side having to face Fulham at the same time their Champions League opponents have their feet up through a period of five-days rest.