Speaking to L’Équipe, Marseille manager André Villas-Boas moved to praise the French government for its announcement this afternoon that the 2019/20 Ligue 1 campaign couldn’t restart owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and that the earliest that sporting events could take place, even behind closed doors, is August.
“I think that the decision is totally logical as it is too early to start training again. The conditions required to be met to return to training, and notably the procedures established by the doctors, were very difficult to put into place. I think that this is a good thing, it goes in the direction of a sense of respect that we need to have for the victims of this virus, in France and in the world.”
“I will speak with the club to see what will happen, whether our results this season will be ratified or not. Up until the league stopped, the league table looked like it does now. This stoppage brings about other problems, notably, one decisive one, which is financial: TV rights. The survival of clubs depends on it. But the government’s decision is logical, respectful of what we are going through at the moment. The most important thing is health, to protect everyone, and the government’s decisions go in that direction. Everyone needs to be aware of how tragic a time it is that we are living through.”
