FFF chief: French football could return in June with 2 cup finals

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French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet said Friday that football could return in the country with two domestic cup finals in June, according to Reuters.

Le Graet said the French Cup final pitting record 12-time winners Paris-Saint Germain against Saint-Etienne could be contested on either June 13 or 20, with the League Cup decider between PSG and Lyon following three days later.

"It would offer a good image for both professional and amateur football," Le Graet told reporters Friday after talks with members of the French professional league (LFP).

The LFP indefinitely suspended the 2019-20 Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 seasons on March 13 following the outbreak of the coronavirus in France.

"The restart of the championship is still to be decided but we might change the calendar a bit to play the cup finals first," Le Graet said. "My proposition has not been contradicted so I consider that until someone says no to me, it is a yes."

The French Cup, which features competitors from the country's professional and amateur ranks and clubs from colonies abroad, and the League Cup, which is open to teams from the top-three divisions of French football, were both originally scheduled to finish in April. Ligue 1's final matchday was initially slated for May 23.

Ligue 1's resumption is tentatively scheduled for June 17, with a statement from the LFP saying players will return to their respective clubs the week of May 11 to undergo "full medical checkups."

"The ministers hold the key to the restart but the will of the league and the clubs is to restart," Le Graet said. "We have to get everything in order to try and resume the season, which is a priority that was emphasized by the UEFA executive committee on Thursday."

France has been one of Europe's hardest-hit nations amid the spread of COVID-19, reporting 159,828 confirmed cases and 22,245 fatalities as of Friday morning.