French football chiefs on Thursday granted Paris Saint-Germain's request to postpone their Ligue 1 clash with title-chasing Lens so they can prepare for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Liverpool – a decision Lens said it disagreed with.
The match between second-placed Lens and pacesetters PSG at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens was scheduled to take place on 11 April, as part of the 29th round of fixtures in the 34-game 2025/2026 Ligue 1 calendar.
But with PSG playing the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 8 April and the second at Anfield on 14 April, PSG on Monday appealed to the Ligue de Football Professionnel for a postponement of the Lens game.
On Thursday, the LFP announced that its board of directors had voted unanimously to reschedule the game to 13 May.
“These decisions are part of the strong strategic direction of the board of directors to allow France to retain its fifth place in the Uefa coefficient rankings, which grants four spots in the Uefa Champions League,” the LFP said in a statement.
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Lens could have lodged an appeal with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee but on Thursday night club executives said they would not pursue the case.
“Whilst expressing its disagreement with the unanimous decision of the LFP board of directors to postpone the match against Paris Saint-Germain, RC Lens accepts this decision with responsibility and reaffirms its determination to pursue its sporting objectives," said a club statement.
In a communique issued on 23 March, after PSG asked the LFP for a change, Lens said preferential treatment should not be given to Ligue 1's biggest spenders.
"It does indeed seem to us that a worrying trend is taking hold: that of a French league gradually being relegated to the status of a mere adjustment variable, subject to the European imperatives of certain parties," the club said in the statement.
"This is a peculiar conception of sporting fairness, for which it is hard to find an equivalent in other major continental competitions."
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Lens lie second in Ligue 1 on 59 points after 27 games. PSG boast 60 points after 26 games as they seek a fifth consecutive top flight title and back-to-back successes in the Champions League.
Luis Campos, PSG's sporting director, defended his club’s position on Wednesday in an interview with French broadcaster RMC.
“The postponement of Lens-PSG has advantages not only for PSG, but also for French football,” he said. “We have nothing against Lens. The issue is to be in the best possible conditions to represent France well in Europe, which needs it.”
On Thursday, the LFP also switched the match between Brest and Strasbourg from 12 April until 13 May to help Strasbourg in its quest for glory in the Conference League.
Strasbourg are due to travel to German Bundesliga outfit Mainz for the first leg of their quarter-final on 9 April. The return leg will take place on 16 April at La Meinau.
