Lyon miss out on European qualification after Ligue 1 season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The league’s governing body announced on Thursday that rankings will be decided by points per game – meaning OL miss out on European qualification.

Lyon have announced they intend to appeal against the decision to end the Ligue 1 season early which meant they missed out on qualifying for European football for the first time since 1997 – and potentially sue the league’s governing body (LFP) for millions of euros.

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe that no football could take place before September, the LFP on Thursday also confirmed that the 2019-20 Ligue 1 season was over and that the championship and European places would be credited on the basis of points per game.

This means Paris Saint-German are awarded a third successive Ligue 1 title, while Marseille and Rennes take the other two Champions League slots.

On the other hand, Lyon finish seventh, outside of the European places, and in a statement on Thursday evening said that the league should have been resolved on the pitch rather than in the boardroom, even if it meant an alternative format.

They claim that the LFP has acted too quickly in cancelling the season, that this method does not meet the UEFA request that “sporting merit” determine European qualification, and that a fairer method would have been a series of play-offs to determine matters – although they admitted PSG are worthy champions.

Source: goal.com