The Ligue 1 Conforama teams have thrown their support behind the decision to suspend the French season in light of the coronavirus outbreak sweeping Europe and the world.
An announcement had already been made earlier in the week that games would be played behind closed doors until 15 April and that the Coupe de la Ligue BKT final - scheduled for 4 April - would be postponed.
But with the coronavirus crisis changing rapidly and in the wake of President Emmanuel Macron's decision to close French schools among other measures to try to slow the spread of the virus, the French Football League's Administrative Council voted unanimously on Friday to immediately suspend the country's top two professional leagues until further notice. They will meet again after the UEFA-wide meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
"We can only agree on the fact that there is harmony across the world of sport that the competitions need to be halted for the moment," said Olympique Lyonnais boss Rudi Garcia referring to the fact that football across Europe has been brought to a stop by the coronavirus outbreak.
"We now have to let the peak of the infections pass. I hope that will come as soon as possible and then get back onto the pitch as quickly as possible. To do that, we have to train and prepare, but as long as we don't have a date in mind, it's not easy. It's a very difficult time, not only for us, but for everyone."
OL have given their first-team squad three days off, but league leaders Paris Saint-Germain have gone as far as to suspend first-team training sessions until Monday when a further assessment of the situation will be made. Until then, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé & Co. have been asked to remain at their homes.
FC Metz have closed their youth academy and halted first-team training until Monday at least, though fellow strugglers Amiens SC are training normally. Montpellier Hérault SC carried out stringent medical tests on their players before letting them have a week off while Stade Rennais FC's squad won't be back at work until 23 March, the date on which AS Saint-Étienne and RC Strasbourg Alsace will also train again.
Also pushing for a podium place, LOSC Lille have scheduled a return to training on Tuesday as have Olympique de Marseille, while FC Nantes will keep training normally, and instead of facing Nîmes Olympique on Saturday evening will play a 90-minute game between squad members.
"A theoretical return to league action has been set for 15 April, even if there's no certainty, and so the four weeks of training will be used for recovery and for individual schedules, because some need a break, others need to work more," said coach Christian Gourcuff. "It'll also give us a chance to look again at tactics. Giving holidays, letting the players go away for eight days, puts them at risk of contamination as they're going to travel and perhaps be confronted with the virus."
Like Dijon FCO and Stade de Reims, AS Monaco will take a short break from training until Wednesday, but neighbours OGC Nice - after initially planning to return to training on Monday - have now decided to suspend all first-team activities until further notice.
Angers SCO are sending players individual training plans to their homes, and coach Stéphane Moulin is clear: football is secondary to health.
"There's no debate. Well-being has always been a priority. It's out of the question to put anyone's health in danger, be it players, fans, journalists, coaches," he explained. "When we're being told there's a risk, we're trying to reduce it to zero. So naturally we're following what the experts in that field are saying. If we don't have a date to start again, we can't be annoyed with anyone. Everyone's trying their best."
Nîmes and Stade Brestois 29 will return to training on Monday, bottom side Toulouse FC will come back on 21 March, but Girondins de Bordeaux have suspended training until further notice.
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