Ligue 1 confirmed to be played behind closed doors or with 1k fans until Apr 15

French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu announces that until April 15, Ligue 1 matches will either be played behind closed doors or with 1000 spectators.

France’s Minister for Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, has this afternoon announced that all Ligue 1 matches until the 15th April will be played behind closed doors or limited to 1,000 fans being able to attend, as the country continues to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

“It must be respected that a maximum of 1,000 people can be in a stadium. Either the clubs will make the decision to sell just up to 1,000 tickets, or they will prefer to play behind closed doors or postpone the fixture if possible.”

Why until the 15th April?

This rule applies until 15th April. This restriction has been decided in coordination with our European partners with the singular aim of protecting our citizens and to prevent the propagation of the coronavirus in our country. We are in an exceptional context and the sporting world must take part in this collective effort. I want to applaud the sense of responsibility and the solidarity that world actors are showing with whom I am in permanent contact.

Maracineanu confirmed that France’s upcoming friendly matches vs Ukraine and Finland will also be affected by this news:

If they can be postponed, they will be. If they cannot be, then they will have to happen with no more than 1,000 people in the stadium…

Paris police just confirmed the 2nd leg of PSG & Dortmund's UCL clash will be played behind closed doors. 

French health authorities reported three new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, taking the country's death toll from the outbreak to 19, as the number of reported infections also rose to 1,126 cases.