On Sunday, June 2nd, Lyon’s state-of-the-art Groupama Stadium is supposed to host American superstar Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert. With Olympique Lyonnais owning the 59.000-seater ground, Swift’s gig in front of a packed crowd will prove a good deal for the Ligue 1 club, which needs revenue streams to increase its resources. Unfortunately, there’s a potential catch.
As revealed this Monday by Le Progrès, Ligue 1 bottom boys Lyon would be in trouble should they finish 16th in the league, paving the way for a make-or-break relegation playoff against the Ligue 2 promotion playoff winner. At the end of the season, the two Ligue 1 bottom clubs are relegated whilst the 16th-placed team is offered a two-game lifeline against either the 3rd, 4th or 5th best-placed Ligue 2 team. Of course, given their current position in the league with 7 points in 13 games played, Les Gones would welcome the opportunity not to be directly relegated.
However, should they finish 16th, Lyon would have to play their crucial relegation playoff second leg at home, on Sunday, June 2nd. Should that be the case, it would be unimaginable for Lyon to postpone, or cancel, Swift’s gig entirely due to the financial fallout. Le Progrès understands that OL may ask for the playoff fixtures to be reversed, to their sporting disadvantage as it would mean playing the decisive second leg away from home, or play in a different stadium, which won’t be their historic Gerland ground.
It would be just easier for Lyon to just “shake it off”, win Ligue 1 games constantly and avoid a relegation run-in altogether to leave a blank space on their calendar for Sunday, June 2nd.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
