LFP board and General Assembly oppose professional sport reform bill in current form | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, the LFP’s board and General Assembly met on Wednesday and voted to oppose the proposed law on football governance currently before the National Assembly, which the Senate passed almost a year ago.

A consensus emerged within the league to reject amendments adopted by the Assembly’s culture committee, which, in the LFP’s view, do not meet the aims of better governance nor the sector’s economic needs.

Philippe Diallo, who initiated the text and sits on the LFP board ex officio, also aligned with the opposition. He supports reform of French football’s governance and anti-piracy measures, but considers several recently added provisions harmful to the overall project. Later he stressed this was not a challenge to the bill itself, rather to the current version, and not a personal disavowal.

Four points judged unacceptable by the professional game were raised: the role of supporters in governance, one match to be shown free-to-air, online betting revenues moving from the LFP to the FFF, and a TV rights distribution ratio set at one to three rather than roughly one to nine today when international rights are included.

The bill, initially slated for 18 May in the Assembly, has already been postponed with no new date set. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has pledged a vote before the end of the current parliamentary session. A 29 June sitting is now being floated, with the joint committee to sift amendments scheduled for 22 July.

Source: L'Équipe