Ligue 1 clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille have said they will not talk to French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus until the end of the 2014-15 season after its footage was used by the French Football League (LFP) to suspend star strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Dimitri Payet.
Utilising Canal Plus footage, the LFP’s disciplinary committee on Thursday issued bans of four and two games respectively to Ibrahimovic and Payet after incidents of using abusive language against referees last month.
A joint statement from PSG and Marseille read: “In order to avoid any other misunderstanding and to preserve the interest and the regularity of the championship with seven matches left, officials from Olympique de Marseille/Paris St Germain have decided not to make any public statements to the journalists and in front of the cameras of the Canal Plus group until May 30.
“This measure will apply whatever the places and the circumstances (interviews, news conferences etc) to their players and their staff who are under big pressure because of the stakes of the season ending. The number of cameras and microphones of the Canal Plus group channels, which surround the team(s) in all circumstances… lead us to adopt this cautious approach.”
Canal Plus currently shares live rights to Ligue 1, the top division of French football, with rival pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group. In April 2014, Canal Plus acquired rights in France for the two main packages of the next cycle of domestic rights for the league, while beIN acquired the other four packages.
The value of Ligue 1’s domestic rights will increase to €726.5m ($768.6m) per season under the new deal – a 20-per-cent increase on the current cycle. The agreements will run for four years, from 2016-17 to 2019-20.
Reigning champion PSG and Marseille are currently engaged in the battle for the 2014-15 Ligue 1 title. PSG sits top of the table, but Marseille is only five points behind in fourth place.