Former Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse manager Antoine Kombouare has asked players to go on strike if Ligue 1 is not expanded to 22 teams next season. With the coronavirus pandemic halting club football since mid-March, the French top division was cancelled for the remaining of the 2019-20 season and PSG were declared the champions while the bottom two-placed teams Amiens and Toulouse were relegated to the second division. The league’s decision to abandon the season faced a huge backlash in France with many criticising the board for relegating two teams despite the season not getting completed while others hit back at the league for finishing the season too soon. PSG Named Ligue 1 2020 Champions as French Football Season Declared Over.

"The players and coaches must agree to strike at the start of next season if that does not happen," Kombouare, who was sacked in January as Toulouse’s manager after 10 successive defeats, was quoted as saying by Goal to L’Equipe. "There will be layoffs. Even at the amateur level, it will hurt. Having players end their careers in this way is terribly unfair, and I have always hated injustice. Amid this suffering and concern born of this crisis, we must unite. We are not united enough. It makes me angry." Lyon Slam 'sudden' Decision to End Ligue 1 Season.

Toulouse were 14 points off safety and had won just thrice and lost 21 times this season after 28 rounds of matches. Amiens, on the other, had better chances of survival and were only four points behind the 18th placed Nimes in the Ligue 1 2019-20 points table. But they have been relegated too and will instead be replaced by Lorient and Lens for the next season.

Amiens, however, have not taken the decision likely and have threatened to go to court to appeal the relegation. The club has also already started an online petition to garner support in their bid to fight for resuming the abandoned season to decide the eventual winners and relegations. "This decision is for our club, all our players, coaches, administrators, volunteers and supporters extremely fraught with consequences.”

French Ligue 1 is one of the few leagues that have called off the season like Belgian Pro League and the Eredivisie. It is, however, the first of the top five leagues in Europe to come to a decision with others still hopeful of restarting the season and completing it.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 11, 2020 10:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).