French Ligue 1 football clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille have opted to end a 10-day boycott of pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus.
PSG and Marseille released statements earlier this month announcing they would not respond to questions from Canal Plus journalists after footage from the Ligue 1 rights holder was used by the French Football League (LFP) in disciplinary cases against PSG forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his Marseille counterpart Dimitri Payet.
Ibrahimovic and Payet were handed respective four and two-match bans for reacting angrily to decisions made by match officials. Both were subsequently reduced by one-match on appeal.
Following talks with the LFP, the clubs are satisfied with an amended stance from the governing body that will restrict what footage Canal Plus can shoot post-match in the players' tunnel and dressing room areas. They have in turn agreed to resume cooperation with Canal Plus.
A statement from Paris Saint-Germain read: “The club has every reason to believe that the message has been received by the LFP. The strong position taken by LFP president Frédéric Thiriez in favour of a modification of the manner in which players are filmed between leaving the field of play and the changing rooms, constitutes a real advance for all professional clubs.
“The French National Olympic and Sport Committee deemed that the film of players entering the changing room ‘had received a level of publicity’ that had strongly influenced the decisions of the LFP's Disciplinary Tribunal.
“We ask broadcasters to respect the privacy of players once they have left the field of play, rather than try and cover their every reaction and movement during moments of extreme tension and frustration.
“In the desire of focusing purely on the end of season that promises to be intense, right to the very end, the club has decided to suspend its boycott of the television station Canal Plus but will remain vigilant in its need to protect its players and we will monitor the broadcasting of all filmed material.”
Marseille released its own statement, citing the LFP’s softened stance on Payet and “constructive discussions” with Canal Plus as important factors in the end of the boycott.
Canal Plus currently shares live rights to Ligue 1, the top division of French football, with rival pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group.