Ligue 1: French court reject clubs' appeal to reverse decision on ending season, cancels relegation for Amiens, Toulouse

France’s highest administrative court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by three clubs to reverse a decision to end the Ligue 1 football season early amid the COVID-19 crisis, but ruled that relegation for Amiens and Toulouse would be suspended.

The French football league’s decision to end the season with 10 games remaining meant that Olympique Lyonnais failed to qualify for Europe through the Ligue 1 standings, while Amiens and Toulouse were relegated.

The decision came after the government said in April that the no professional sport would be allowed to return before September. It has since said that French Cup final matches for the season can take place in July and August. Training for teams has now resumed.

“The judge validates the terms defined by the league, in particular for the classification of the Ligue 1 championship,” the State Council said in a statement.

“The judge in summary proceedings suspends relegation to Ligue 2 of Amiens and Toulouse,” it added.

Given that two teams have been promoted from Ligue 2, the State Council also ordered the LFP to review its championship for the next season. That could ultimately lead to a 22-team league for the 2020-21 campaign.