Paris Saint-Germain routed second division Le Havre in a friendly on Sunday remarkable not for the 9-0 score, but because it drew the bigg...
Paris Saint-Germain routed second division Le Havre in a friendly on Sunday remarkable not for the 9-0 score, but because it drew the biggest crowd for a match in one of Europe’s ‘Big Five’ football nations since early March.
The French government relaxed the health protocols before the weekend to allow for a total attendance of 5,000, including players, journalists and staff, at games and while the match at Le Havre was not the first to be played, the others involved only lower-division clubs.
For the game at Le Havre, the tickets, priced between 30 euros ($34) and 60 euros, sold out in six minutes.
“It is a victory for French football, sport in general,” said outgoing Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu who was at the match.
“I am delighted that football in France can resume in a popular way, with more people in the stadiums. It is the only country in western Europe to be able to do this.”
Unlike Germany, England, Italy and Spain, France abandoned its league season in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, but when the other four countries resumed their leagues, they did so behind closed doors.
Although social distancing rules were in place, fans took a few liberties once they were in the 25,000-capacity Stade Ocean on...
