‘If we are not respected, we will not respect others’ Brest manager Éric Roy rips into Ligue 1 scheduling | OneFootball

The Ligue 1 schedule makers aren’t endearing themselves to Stade Brestois ahead of an all-French UEFA Champions League tie between themselves and Paris Saint-Germain.

After the first leg of that knockout fixture against Les Parisiens next Tuesday, Éric Roy’s m

en will host AJ Auxerre in a top-flight clash that Friday. That means Brest will have just three days’ rest before hosting AJA. Luis Enrique’s side, on the other hand, will have an extra day before they return to domestic action, hosting Toulouse FC on February 15.

PSG’s extra day of rest is not something Roy is pleased about.“There are eight days of beating between the two Champions League matches. It’s not illogical to schedule Saturdays, and therefore have four days to recover a little more before the league match,” Roy said at a press conference.

Roy went on to say: “I’m going to play a very tough game against PSG in Guingamp, and three days later, I’m playing against Auxerre. I do not think that is normal and it is not respectful to us. If we are not respected, we are not going to respect others either.“

Brest were among the busiest Ligue 1 sides last month, having to play seven matches across all competitions. Since their 2-1 victory over Olympique Lyonnais on January 11, they haven’t had more than four days rest in between matches. Roy’s team have played three competitive fixtures in less than a week in the Champions League, Ligue 1 and Coupe de France, respectively.

At the same time PSG also had seven matches in total last month with no more than a four-day break since a 2-1 win over AS Saint-Étienne on January 12. PSG and Brest will play three matches against one another this month with Les Parisiens claiming a 5-2 victory in the league last Saturday.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre