Ligue 1 opener postponed after Marseille returns four positive COVID-19 tests

The French Ligue 1 was initially scheduled to start its 2020-21 season on Friday.

Professional football suffered another coronavirus-related blow after the opening match of the 2020-21 French Ligue 1 season has been postponed. Four coronavirus tests came back positive from Marseille, who were due to host Saint Etienne in the season-opening match on Friday.

Eight fixtures were originally scheduled to be played this coming weekend. At the moment, only the Marseille vs. Saint Etienne match has been affected. The fixture has been moved to September 16 or 17 while the rest of the matches scheduled on Saturday and Sunday are expected to push through.

However, according to Sky Sports, another French club, Nimes, has announced "two suspected cases." The club is scheduled to play against Brest on Sunday, and it remains to be seen if the suspected cases will eventually result in another postponement.

The French League earlier declared that the presence of more than three positive cases at any club will lead to a postponement. Marseille defender Jordan Amavi tested positive last week. Unfortunately, the latest round of testing returned three more positive cases from within the squad.

France is eager to start their season after the previous one was cancelled prematurely due to the pandemic. With Paris Saint-Germain holding a 12-point lead at the top of the table when the lockdown started in March, French football authorities decided to hand PSG the title instead of resuming the season in June like most other big European leagues. Marseille are the previous season's runners-up, and they are eager to compete for the title again.

Meanwhile, PSG still have their attention on the UEFA Champions League. They have booked a spot in the final on Sunday, with the possibility of facing either Bayern Munich or fellow French side Olympique Lyonnais.

If more COVID-19 cases are found among the French teams, the UEFA Champions League final may also be compromised. It remains to be seen if Ligue 1 will also be able to start successfully this weekend. With the pandemic currently on its second wave around the world, the sporting community is putting in maximum effort to resume competitions.