Paris Saint-Germain’s title rivals hit out in fiery statement at ‘troubling’ request to change fixture amid Champions League bid

One rule for me and another for thee.

French club Lens have issued a strongly-worded statement over Paris Saint-Germain’s attempt to move their scheduled fixture to ensure they will be fit and firing for the upcoming Champions League quarter-finals.

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Lens and PSG are due to face off in Ligue 1 action on April 11.

The domestic dust-up is scheduled between both legs of PSG’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Liverpool.

Luis Enrique’s side will host the Reds on April 8 before they travel to Anfield for the second leg on April 14.

With PSG aiming to defend their Champions League crown coupled with being only one point ahead of Lens in the Ligue 1 standings, it could be a season-defining period.

It is why PSG made a formal request for their match against Lens to be postponed.

Yet the unlikely title hopefuls have fired back at the French giants as they refused to budge on rescheduling the contest.

Lens fume over PSG’s request

“On March 6, the scheduling of the match pitting Racing Club de Lens against Paris Saint-Germain was finalised, formalising a framework to which everyone was then invited to adhere,” the statement read.

“In a spirit of responsibility and restraint, Racing Club de Lens, from the very first requests, made it known to Paris Saint-Germain its intention not to see this date changed. True to a certain idea of sporting stability, the club had also chosen to refrain from any public communication on this subject.

“However, the recent proliferation of statements, interventions, and various suggestions now leads us to break from this reserve.

“It does indeed appear to us that a troubling sentiment is taking hold: That of a French championship gradually relegated to the status of an adjustment variable at the whim of the European imperatives of some. A singular conception of sporting equity, the equivalent of which is hard to find in other major continental competitions.

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“Changing the date of this match today would mean, for Racing Club de Lens, being deprived of competition for 15 days and then chaining matches every three days — a rhythm that corresponds neither to the one defined at the start of the championship, nor to the resources of a club that could absorb this type of new constraint without consequence.

“It would therefore be understood that the tenth budget in the championship should adapt to the demands of the most powerful, in the name of interests that, evidently, now extend beyond the domestic framework, which has already been lightened in recent seasons (L1 reduced to 18 clubs, discontinuation of the Coupe de la Ligue).

“Beyond this particular case, the question raised is more fundamental: That of the respect due to the competition itself. For it is permissible to wonder when, on its own soil, the championship sometimes seems relegated behind other ambitions, however legitimate they may be.

“Racing Club de Lens remains committed to equity, the clarity of rules, and respect for all stakeholders. Simple principles, for a loyal and respected French football.”

Fixture nightmare for Lens looms

Lens are next in action on April 4, when they will face Lille.

At present, Lens will play PSG in the following match on April 11.

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However, should the Parisians win the battle to have the fixture moved, it would mean Lens would not have a match until April 19, when they are due to host Toulouse.

Ligue 1 is PSG’s to lose

That would mean Lens have a 15-day gap between fixtures.

Lens sit second in the Ligue 1 standings on 59 points, one behind PSG.

However, the French giants have a game in hand and could extend their lead to four points with seven fixtures to go.

Since the 2012/13 campaign, PSG have failed to win Ligue 1 just twice, cementing their status as the top dogs in France.

It is why Lens, who finished runners-up in Ligue 1 only three seasons ago, won’t give up on preserving the original date of the PSG fixture without a fight.