Ligue 1 season opener postponed after Marseille Covid cases

The French league (LFP)on Tuesday reshuffled the opening weekend of the Ligue 1 season after the game scheduled to kick off the season was cancelled following three more positive COVID-19 tests at Marseille. 

Marseille were due to play Saint-Etienne on Friday evening in the first league match in France since March 8.

The LFP then filled the Friday evening slot by bringing forward the game between Bordeaux and Nantes, initially scheduled for Saturday.

The three fresh coronavirus cases took the total at Marseille to four.

The club said on Tuesday that all details had been relayed to the LFP.

The LFP said the postponed match was to be played on either September 16 or 17 "subject to changes in sanitary conditions within the Olympique de Marseille club".

Andre Villas-Boas' side cancelled a friendly on August 14 against Stuttgart of Germany as a precaution.

Fellow Ligue 1 side Nimes announced two new suspected cases in its squad and all employees have been put in isolation pending test results.

Nimes had hosted Marseille on August 9 in a friendly.

At least 37 Ligue 1 players from 11 clubs have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks. 

The vast majority contracted the virus after resuming training in June, leading to quarantine and a flurry of cancelled pre-season matches.

Two matches slated for this weekend -  Paris Saint-Germain against Metz and Montpellier against Lyon - had already been cancelled because PSG and Lyon are playing Champions League semifinals in Portugal.