Paris: The sports minister of France Roxana Maracineanu on Thursday called for the French league to end the Ligue 1 season. Roxana also hit out at football clubs and players for a "lack of empathy" during the coronavirus pandemic.
The league will hold a teleconference on Thursday to discuss what to do next, after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said this week the "2019-20 professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart".
"A decision has to be made," Maracineanu told a radio station.
"The signal that the prime minister gave was clear and simple. We expect sporting bodies to assume their responsibilities as we do."
One leading club president, Lyon's Jean-Michel Aulas, has said he does not believe the season is necessarily dead and has even suggested a series of play-offs to decide relegation and European places, but the minister does not want that to happen.
"Resuming this season in August would go against what the prime minister and the government have proposed," Maracineanu, a former Olympic swimmer, said.