Organizers face a headache. The schedule for the 27th day of the French football championship, planned for the weekend of March 20-22, was released this Wednesday. However, one match is missing, the game between Olympique de Marseille and Lille. The Professional Football League (LFP) indicates that it will be rescheduled “as soon as possible.”
First choice of the Ligue 1 + broadcaster, the clash was supposed to take place on Sunday, March 22 at 8:45 pm as the highlight of the day. However, there is a problem: the second round of municipal elections is scheduled for the same day. According to our information, which confirms that of L’Équipe, the Professional Football League was prohibited by the Ministry of the Interior and the prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône from scheduling the match at that time.
Tense elections in Marseille
The authorities simply fear disturbances around the Vélodrome stadium, which could be linked to the election results expected at 8 pm. The municipal elections in Marseille are highly contested and could offer a fierce duel between the socialist incumbent mayor Benoît Payan (35% of voting intentions) and the National Rally candidate Franck Allisio (32% of voting intentions).
Due to Lille’s Europa League match against Aston Villa on the preceding Thursday, OM-Lille can only be played on Sunday. In order to find a solution, the LFP proposed to the authorities to organize the match between the two teams a few hours earlier, during the 5:15 pm multiplex with Rennes-Metz and Paris FC-Le Havre.
The organization now awaits approval from the authorities, knowing that the final whistle will be blown just an hour before the city’s new mayor is announced. Sunday, March 22 promises to be eventful in the Phocaean city.
