Ligue 1 opener off after Marseille COVID-19 cases
The first match of the new Ligue 1 season has been postponed after Marseille confirmed it had reached four positive coronavirus cases.
Marseille was due to host Saint-Etienne on Saturday (AEST) in the opening game of the 2020-2021 Ligue 1 campaign.
But the new French top-flight season will instead start with a match between Bordeaux and Nantes on Sunday (AEST).
Prior to the LFP announcement, Marseille said a trio of "suspected" coronavirus cases had been confirmed just three days before the start of the new season.
The Ligue 1 club previously revealed that three individuals within its "professional workforce" had been detected as potentially having COVID-19.
Its communication at the time indicated the club was seeking confirmation regarding these cases and follow-up tests all came back positive.
Those results took the club's positive cases up to four in the space of four days.
A statement from Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) read: "In view of the medical results communicated by Marseille, the national COVID commission has indicated to the LFP's Competitions Commission that the virus is circulating within the Marseille club and proposed the postponement of the match.
"According to the protocol for the organisation of matches, the LFP's Competitions Commission has decided to postpone the match to Wednesday 16 or Thursday 17 September 2020, subject to the evolution of health conditions at Marseille.
"The final date will be determined in agreement with the match broadcaster."
