PSG granted Liverpool Champions League advantage after furious club row

Paris Saint-Germain have won their fight to postpone the Ligue 1 fixture that falls in between their Champions League quarter-final games vs Liverpool . PSG were due to play against Lens on April 11, but the clash between France's top two will now be moved despite uproar from their rivals.

PSG lodged a formal request to the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) for the match to be rescheduled for later in the season and the controversial decision has been made to approve it. It’s not the first time that the club have made a similar request, with them asking for their match vs Nantes to be moved, amid their last 16 clash vs Chelsea .

The first leg of the quarter-final between Liverpool and PSG will take place at the Parc des Princes on April 8. The return leg at Anfield will take place just under a week later on April 14.

In between those games, the Reds face a Premier League clash against Fulham at Anfield. That game will be played on the same day PSG were due to play Lens.

The decision to postpone the match was made by the LFP board of directors on Thursday morning, with Strasbourg also successful in having their match vs Brest postponed ahead of their UEFA Conference League quarter-final vs Mainz. L'Equipe reports that the board made the decision to move the matches to facilitate arrangements for teams before European matches to give them the best chance of progressing.

PSG's Ligue 1 match against Lens will now take place on Wednesday, May 13. Strasbourg's match will also take place on the same day.

In response to the reports earlier this week, Lens released a strong statement . "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,” it 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.

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"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.

"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."

Responding to the statement , a PSG Club source told Le Parisien : "The performances of French clubs competing in European competitions benefit French football as a whole, especially given that France currently occupies 6th place in the UEFA coefficient rankings for the 2025-2026 season.

“The stakes are high: securing 5th place in the UEFA coefficient rankings, which means better representation for French football in European competitions, with up to seven clubs qualifying. The success of French clubs in Europe also generates direct benefits for all professional clubs, not just the teams involved in these competitions.

"The prospect of seeing two French clubs reach the semi-finals of European competitions represents a significant opportunity for Ligue 1, both sportingly and economically."

It was added: "This type of rescheduling has been implemented regularly by the LFP in the past, to the benefit of many French clubs involved in European competitions."

However, Lens' general manager Benjamin Parrot also didn't hold back in his thoughts . “The fact is, PSG made the choice of the Champions League, like Canal+, their broadcaster," he said.

"Now, if the LFP doesn't defend Ligue 1, who will? If they don't defend the continuity and respect for what Ligue 1 is, who will?"

“When we start the season, we have the tenth-largest budget, we build a squad and a strategy to compete in the league and the Coupe de France.

“The fact that the reigning European champions can still be involved in European competition in the spring is good news, but it's not unpredictable.

“Yet today, they're asking us to change a known schedule, for which a plan has already been established. We realise that Ligue 1 is becoming the variable used to adjust the Champions League schedule.