PSG Seek Postponement Of Crucial Ligue 1 Tie Ahead Of Liverpool Clash

Paris St-Germain have formally requested the postponement of their pivotal Ligue 1 fixture against title rivals Lens, a match scheduled between their two UEFA Champions League quarter-final legs against Liverpool.

The Parisian giants are set to visit Lens in a top-of-the-table encounter on Saturday, 11th April. This date falls three days after they host Arne Slot’s Liverpool side and three days prior to the crucial return leg at Anfield. In contrast, Liverpool are scheduled to host Fulham in the Premier League on the same day.

Lens, currently vying for their first league title since 1998, have vehemently opposed PSG’s request to France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP). In a statement, they expressed strong disapproval of the “troubling sentiment” surrounding a potential rescheduling. Lens argued that such a move risks their domestic league being “gradually relegated to the status of an adjustment variable at the whim of the European imperatives of some.”

“Beyond this specific case, the question raised is a more fundamental one: that of the respect due to the competition itself,” a club statement said. “For one is entitled to wonder when, on its own soil, the league sometimes seems to be relegated to second place behind other ambitions, however legitimate they may be.”

A spokesperson for PSG countered, stating that “this type of rescheduling has been carried out regularly by the LFP in the past for the benefit of French clubs” and “in no way calls the league into question.”

Second-placed Lens currently trail leaders PSG by a single point. Lens head coach Pierre Sage reiterated his side’s disagreement with a postponement following their 5-1 victory over Angers on Sunday.

In a similar scenario during PSG’s previous Champions League tie against Chelsea, Luis Enrique’s side had the weekend off between legs after their game against Nantes was postponed. The European champions ultimately won that tie 8-2 on aggregate.

The final decision rests with the LFP, whose stated position is to assist French clubs competing in Europe. The LFP also confirmed that Strasbourg have requested a postponement of their league game at Brest on the same weekend, as it falls between their UEFA Conference League fixtures against Mainz.