The Ligue de Football Professionnel has said they have received a request from Paris Saint-Germain to postpone their top-of-the-table clash against RC Lens.
The reigning European champions have been drawn against Premier League holders Liverpool in the quarter final of the Champions League. PSG’s home fixture, at the Parc des Princes, is on Wednesday April 8, while the return leg at Anfield is on Tuesday April 14.
Inbetween the ties, PSG are also scheduled to face Lens at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday April 11 — but the governing organisation of France’s top leagues confirmed to The Athletic that they have asked for it to be rearranged.
Liverpool also have a league match scheduled on that day, against Fulham at 5:30pm.
The Ligue 1 fixture is the biggest domestic match left to play this season, with just one point separating the two sides in France’s top tier, though league-leaders PSG have a game in hand.
Lens, who are chasing a first league title since 1998, are strongly against the idea of having the fixture moved to a later date. They believe it would negatively impact them at a time when they are still a contender for the title.
They have also reached the semi-final of the Coupe de France, where they face Toulouse at home on April 21, which makes the fixture harder to switch. The final of that competition is held on May 22 at the Stade de France.
The LFP have the final say, however, and will always look to benefit French clubs playing in European competitions. They confirmed to The Athletic that Strasbourg had also requested to have their domestic match away to Brest postponed, as it’s in between their two Europa Conference League games to Mainz.
Speaking at his press conference after Lens’ 5-1 victory over Angers on Friday night, head coach Pierre Sage told journalists, per L’Equipe: “We don’t agree (with a postponement).
“We played a French Cup match, it was scheduled for Thursday, and we had to play against Metz on Sunday. We were happy to be in the French Cup, and we played Metz on Sunday. After that, I understand that having rest allows you to perform better.
“They managed to prove that in their match against Chelsea. But today, it’s a very competitive club that is involved in many competitions.”
In PSG’s previous Champions League tie, against Chelsea, they were granted the weekend off in between the two matches. Chelsea, meanwhile, played at home to Newcastle that weekend. PSG won 8-2 on aggregate.
PSG had been scheduled to play Nantes, with supporters of the relegation strugglers angry their game had been postponed. At their following match, posters were given out by fans that depicted their owner, Waldemar Kita, cleaning PSG owner Nasser al-Khelaifi’s shoes, RMC Sport reported. That match has now been moved to April 20, where Nantes have three matches in a week that could decide their Ligue 1 fate.
The Athletic has approached PSG for comment.