Due to security concerns, the top match in France’s Ligue 1 cannot take place on Sunday evening. The new date now clashes with the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony – for which numerous Paris Saint-Germain players have been nominated.
Following Friday’s leak that Real Madrid would be taking part in the Ballon d’Or ceremony for the first time after a two-year boycott, a full “line-up” of participants is now once again out of the question: Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain will be unable to attend the ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre.
The reason for this is a last-minute rescheduling of the top match in the French Ligue 1, which was announced on Friday lunchtime. As the league association states, the match between PSG and league leaders Olympique Lyon – who are level on points – originally scheduled for Sunday evening at 8.45 pm, had to be postponed.
An order from the police prefecture, citing security concerns due to the current wave of protests in France, prohibited the match from going ahead, which is why it has been rescheduled for Monday evening at 8.30 pm. The first match in France featuring the professional American football league, the NFL, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints (2.30 pm) is nevertheless set to go ahead as planned.
The gala for the prestigious trophy, however, begins at 7.00 pm in London, with the first announcements expected at 9.00 pm Central European Time.
Numerous PSG players among the nominees
Interestingly, Paris’s successful manager Luis Enrique, as the “defending champion” amongst the five nominees, is considered one of the strongest contenders for the World Coach of the Year title; amongst the players, last year’s winner Ousmane Dembelé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are likely to stand the best chance. However, the attacking duo could still make the trip to London despite the circumstances, even though both are currently sidelined following injuries sustained in the Champions League against FC Barcelona – with Kvaratskhelia, who has suffered a cruciate ligament tear, ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Also nominated are the similarly injured Marquinhos, as well as Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Willian Pacho, Achraf Hakimi, Fábio, Ferran Torres, Vitinha and Matvei Safonov for the Yashin Trophy as best goalkeeper, and Warren Zaire-Emery as best Under-21 player. Paris Saint-Germain as a whole is also in the running for Club of the Year.
Last year, the gala had already clashed with the Classique between Olympique Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain. At that time, Dembélé was absent through injury, whilst Luis Enrique was on the touchline as he received the World Coach of the Year award.