The upcoming Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Racing Club de Lens, initially scheduled for Saturday, April 11, has been postponed to May 13 so that PSG can better prepare its two Champions League quarter-final games against Liverpool on Wednesday, April 8 and Tuesday, April 14.
It is a relatively common practice in the Ligue 1, but one that's seen more and more unfair in France and abroad. First, it will give PSG an advantage in Champions League, as they will have time to fully prepare the match, while Liverpool will still play that weekend in the Premier League as usual, against Fulham, and so will all the rest of teams in their respective European leagues, like Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern...
More and more people are wondering why the Ligue 1 is seemingly giving a preferential treatment to PSG, but nobody questions that more than Lens, who expressed "its disagreement with the unanimous decision of the LFP Board of Directors" and previously tried to stop the postponement, arguing that the Ligue 1 as a whole is being "gradually relegated of an adjustment variable at the whim of the European imperatives of some".
An added factor in the controversy is that Lens is second in the Ligue 1, one point, potentially four points behind PSG, and a victory in that match would make the league tighter. Now, that duel will be played just before the final matchday of the French league, on the weekend of May 16.