Lens vs PSG match postponement is more than just a scheduling issue. Behind it lies a serious question: who exactly does French football belong to? Are we really so weak in the face of those pushing Ligue 1 to the brink?
So the question arises – should the LFP submit unanimously, please, to the slightest whim of Qataris? All this just to, it seems, maintain the fifth place in the UEFA index. As if moving the European champions to Bollaert would allow Portugal to surpass France. As if a payroll five to ten times higher wasn’t enough.
The Qatar as a gravedigger of Ligue 1
In the media sequence that unfolded, the question of why television rights have been divided by four since QSI bought PSG in 2011 was never raised. Nor is the role of BeIn in making Ligue 1 invisible, questioned often are the methods to end Nasser al-Khelaifi’s blatant conflicts. This Qatari version of PSG maintains a toxic relationship with Ligue 1. The dominating club manages to weaken its league each year and present itself as essential. Fortunately, only the feeble-minded or fanatics would buy into this story-telling. Ironically, the second the Super League is created, PSG will leave Ligue 1.
The unanimous vote to postpone the Lens-PSG match has shown that the LFP is the plaything of Nasser al-Khelaifi, and by extension, Qatar’s emir. Are the board members being manipulated at the cost of undermining the competition they organize? Or is it even more serious?
Because Qatar, as we know, uses questionable methods to expand its influence. It only exists because of oil and gas on its territory. While trying to improve its reputation through sports investments, it is hindered by its penchant for slavery, arbitrary imprisonment, and strict Sharia application. The country has also been accused of being one of the main financiers of Islamic terrorism. Finally, as owners of Paris Saint-Germain, Qataris cannot resist, according to their critics, harassing their employees or launching campaigns against their own players. They seem to have no respect for anything or anyone.
The dishonor of the LFP leaders
To roll out the red carpet for Nasser al-Khelaifi, one must have buried part of their soul and conscience already. Worse, the LFP board members have shown that they are in his pocket. Did this president win the Champions League thanks to his sporting policy intelligence or the depth of his wallet?
To submit to this unmerited leader in the French capital, is what the league does. And some play the tune that there is no other way, the Qataris are the strongest. Qatar, stronger? This country, currently being bombed by Iran, cannot defend itself alone. When the day comes that its gas and oil reserves are depleted, or when Saudi Arabia points its finger to reclaim that small piece of territory in the first geopolitical storm, the world will quickly forget the remarkable intrusion of these emirs into the highest global spheres.
It’s not just about discussing the postponement of a match. It’s about realizing that our league is subjected to the tyranny of PSG and behind them, a state with murky diplomacy.
The battle of Racing is about reclaiming Ligue 1. “We are earthlings,” Benjamin Parrot likes to say. As true earthlings, we are stunned in the face of the absurdity of this vote, disgusted to see the extent of vanity and the taste of luxury of the Labrune clan. How do we escape this deadly grip?
Tonight, like yesterday and tomorrow, we will go to bed with rage against this sporting injustice, but with a clear conscience. We are fortunate to be supporters of a respectable and honorable club. Without admitting it, Parisian supporters, at least those with a political conscience, envy us. More than ever: proud to be Lens supporters.
