Paris Saint-Germain have asked to push back their Ligue 1 showdown with RC Lens, with the April 11 fixture falling between their Champions League quarterfinal ties against Liverpool FC.
Lens have resisted, saying the domestic schedule should not be reshaped to suit "the European ambitions of certain parties,” and opposing any change to the home match.
A ruling from Ligue 1 is expected Thursday. The league has a track record of accommodating clubs competing in Europe. Two years ago, it rescheduled Marseille’s clash with Nice during Olympique de Marseille’s Europa League quarterfinal against SL Benfica, a move then-president Pablo Longoria publicly welcomed.
The stakes are high. Lens trail PSG by one point, albeit having played one game more, leaving the title race finely poised.
The clash poses a problem for defending Champions League winner PSG, which is scheduled to host Liverpool three days earlier and play the return leg at Anfield three days later.
The French league previously postponed PSG’s home match against FC Nantes, the game in hand it has on Lens, because it fell between the two round-of-16 ties against Chelsea FC. A rested PSG routed Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate.
But while Nantes agreed to reschedule, Lens sees things differently.
"It appears to us that a worrying sentiment is taking hold, that of a French league gradually being relegated to the status of a mere variable to accommodate the European ambitions of certain parties,” Lens said in a statement posted on X. "This is a peculiar conception of sporting fairness, one that is difficult to find parallels with in other major continental competitions.”
PSG have argued that French clubs advancing deep into European competitions benefits the country’s standing in UEFA coefficient rankings, which are based on results in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
England sent a record six teams into the Champions League this season because of its coefficient ranking.
France qualified three teams directly, while Nice failed to advance through qualifying for a potential fourth spot.
Lens argued that it has the 10th-largest budget in Ligue 1, far behind PSG’s spending power, and that its smaller squad would be stretched by a congested schedule. Lens are also set to play in the French Cup semifinals on April 21.
"Changing the date of this match today would mean Lens would be without competition for 15 days, followed by matches every three days,” the club said. "A schedule that corresponds neither to the one established at the start of the season nor to the resources of a club that could absorb this type of new constraint without consequence.”
Lens will play three matches in eight days during a demanding stretch from April 17-24, facing Toulouse FC in Ligue 1 and in the French Cup semifinals before visiting Stade Brestois 29 on April 24. That game is scheduled on a Friday rather than over the weekend, limiting recovery time.
Lens won their only French title in 1998, compared with a record 13 championships for PSG, which sealed last season’s trophy with ease. PSG lost only twice, both after the title had already been secured.
"Beyond this specific case, the question raised is more fundamental, that of the respect due to the competition itself,” Lens added. "It is legitimate to question this when, on its own soil, the league sometimes seems relegated behind other ambitions.”
Another factor could weigh against Lens.
RC Strasbourg Alsace have reportedly asked to rearrange their league game at Brest on April 12 because it falls between their Conference League quarterfinal against German side.