Ligue 1 giants could be DOOMED because of Taylor Swift concert
Tom Weber
- 4 Dec 2023 14:52 CST
- 3 min read
Sometimes in football things don't work out as expected and Olympique Lyon are finding it out the hard way this season.
Rooted to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, the fallen giants of French football are in the midst of something that seemed inconceivable at the start of the season: a relegation battle.
A team boasting big names such as Chelsea-linked Rayan Cherki, ex-Liverpool man Dejan Lovren, ex-Bayern midfielder Corentin Tolisso, former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette and ex-Man Utd target Nicolas Tagliafico are in real danger of dropping down to Ligue 2. It has been nothing but chaos at Lyon this season.
The seven-time French champions are already looking for their third permanent head coach of the campaign after recently firing 2006 World Cup winner Fabio Grosso, who had failed to give the team a lift and had fallen out with Cherki. A few weeks ago, the Italian was left with a bloodied face after Lyon's team bus was attacked prior to the ultimately postponed rivalry game with Marseille.
Now, it has been revealed that their vital end to the season, which could decide their Ligue 1 fate, could be disrupted...by Taylor Swift.
Lyon's anti-hero
As outlined by RMC, Lyon bosses did not in their wildest dreams imagine that their club would be in a relegation battle this term and as such they did not expect to be playing competitive games in June 2024.
In a bid to maximise revenues, OL have been scheduling an increasing number of event and concerts at their ground, the Groupama Stadium, and one of these concerts is an already sold-out Taylor Swift gig. The megastar will perform at the stadium on June 2 (and again the following day) but this date coincides with the return fixture of the Ligue 1/Ligue 2 relegation play-off.
Of course, there is still a long way to go in the season and Lyon could already be relegated - or mathematically safe - by that point, but if they were to be in the play-off spot come the end of the campaign, they could be forced to find another venue, potentially surrendering home field advantage in a crucial fixture.
