Lens/PSG – Larqué lays into the LFP, “Ligue 1 is a dustbin”

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·27. März 2026

Lens/PSG – Larqué lays into the LFP, “Ligue 1 is a dustbin”

Jean-Michel Larqué, a former AS Saint-Étienne and Paris Saint-Germain player who earned 14 caps for the French national team, now works as a pundit on RMC Sport. On Thursday evening, he was invited to share his thoughts on the “affair” surrounding the postponement of the match between Lens and PSG as part of Ligue 1’s Matchday 29, initially scheduled for Saturday, April 11, between the two Champions League quarterfinal legs for the Parisians against Liverpool. He did not hold back.

Larqué: “The people running French football, especially those at the LFP, are the gravediggers of football.”

In this matter, you can understand Lens’ anger, and you can understand PSG’s request. What we do not understand is that the people running French football, especially those at the LFP, are the gravediggers of football. Do you realize that between the penultimate matchday and the final matchday, when matches are normally supposed to be played at the same time, there will be a Matchday 28 fixture taking place. So the penultimate matchday will no longer really be the penultimate matchday.

Larqué: “They are trampling on their own rules.”

They are trampling on their own rules. Don’t ever deal with these people, they have neither faith nor law. They could even have saved money, because they have as much money as toads have feathers. They are broke. They could have saved on travel and meal expenses. They consider Ligue 1 to be a trash can.”

In recent days, the idea has been clear: take aim at the LFP, the villain supposedly ruining French football to help PSG in Europe. It should first be pointed out that clubs’ performances in European competitions matter, and that Strasbourg obtained the same arrangement for its match against Brest between the Conference League quarterfinals.

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Some have pointed out that the four countries ranked highest in the UEFA coefficient (England, Germany, Spain and Italy) do not make these postponements, whereas lower-ranked countries do resort to them, such as Portugal, 6th just behind France. But precisely, those four countries are firmly established and ahead. France has to battle with a high-performing Portugal and work in hopes of one day grabbing 4th place. That would be a huge boost for French football. At the very least, it must hold on to 5th place so as not to lose European spots.

This is essential for the image of French football and its revenues. The LFP took that into account. Of course, it was also possible to refuse the postponement, which seems a little unfair to Lens. There is also the issue of having these matches between the last two matchdays. That can be understood as well. It was a complex case, with arguments on every side. It is a shame to go to such an extreme on one side, without any sense of proportion. And perhaps Ligue 1 will have a very fine final before the last matchday, a standalone match that everyone will be able to watch.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.