Football fans were left shocked as news broke that Ballon d’Or 2020 has been cancelled. Organisers France Football Magazine cited the ‘lack of sufficient fair conditions’ and ‘unnatural circumstances’ to cancel the top prize ceremony, which has been hugely dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi leads the Ballon d’Or award tally with six trophies while Ronaldo is next best with five. Cristiano Ronaldo’s fans, however, feels that the Juventus and Portuguese talisman has been robbed off a Ballon d‘Or title and an opportunity to equal Messi’s record. Ballon d’Or 2020: France Football Cancel Prestigious Award Due to 'Lack of Sufficient Fair Conditions'.

France Football Magazine, on Monday, announced that they were cancelling the Ballon d’Or 2020 award as they feel “it wouldn’t be fairly awarded.” “The fairness that prevails for this honorary title could not be preserved, in particular at the statistical level and also in the preparation since all the aspirants to the award could not be rightly compared, some having seen their season cut radically short, others not,” the magazine said in a statement. Ballon d’Or 2020 Cancelled: Twitterati Feels Robert Lewandowski Has Been Robbed off the Top Prize by France Football (See Memes and Reactions).

While the cancellation of the award certainly hampers the opportunities of many players to win the prestigious award, Ronaldo was among the hot favourites along with Robert Lewandowski, who has scored over 50 goals this season and guided Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title this season. He was also awarded the Bundesliga Player of the Season award. Ronaldo too has been in great form and has already found the net 32 times this season.

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Harsh on Cristiano Ronaldo

In the 2019-20 season, Ronaldo has played 41 games and scored 32 times, 28 of which has come in Serie A. He has also been on a scoring streak and had netted in 11 consecutive Serie A games. He followed it with another six-game scoring streak once the season resumed after the coronavirus halt. His six-match goalscoring streak in Serie A came to an end in the 3-3 draw against Sassuolo.

Ronaldo can also overtake Ciro Immobile, who leads the Serie A goalscoring charts with 29 strikes, if he manages to find the net twice against Lazio in Juventus’ next Serie A clash.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2020 08:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).