Lens Claim Trophée des Champions Amid LFP Controversy
Lens opened their season in glory, but also in the eye of a storm. A 1-0 win over PSG delivered the Trophée des Champions to the Sang et Or, yet the night quickly turned from sporting showcase to governance controversy.
Florian Thauvin struck the only goal, enough to sink the French champions and send the Stade Bollaert-Delelis into the kind of frenzy usually reserved for big league nights in the north. Lens then dug in, surviving a long spell with a numerical disadvantage to close out the victory. On the pitch, it was a statement. In the stands, it was something else entirely.
A “neutral” final in a home cauldron
This is supposed to be a neutral curtain-raiser. One match, one trophy, no home comforts. The LFP chose Lens’ own Bollaert as the venue anyway.
That decision has triggered fierce backlash. The numbers tell the story: Madein Foot reported that around 95 per cent of the crowd backed Lens. PSG, serial winners of this competition and used to travelling in force, were limited to just 1,850 tickets in the away end.
The result was predictable. The atmosphere felt like a classic Lens home game, not a balanced national showpiece. Chants, colours, noise – all tilted in one direction.
The LFP didn’t just accept that reality; it amplified it. Lens’ usual pre-match and half-time entertainment stayed in place, reinforcing the sense that this was their night, in their stadium, on their terms. For a match billed as a neutral Super Cup, the optics were damning.
A sharp contrast with last year
The handling of this edition jarred even more when set against 2023. When PSG faced Toulouse at the Parc des Princes, the LFP went out of its way to strip out any hint of home advantage. The presentation was neutral. The crowd split was tightly controlled at 50-50. The message then was clear: the Trophée des Champions belongs to both clubs, not one.
This time, that principle evaporated. The organisation looked lopsided, and the criticism has been just as one-sided.
It also reopens old wounds. The latest misstep arrives less than a year after disputes surrounding a postponed fixture between PSG and Lens, another episode that raised questions about decision-making at the top of the French game.
Adding to the sense of discomfort, both LFP president Vincent Labrune and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi were, according to the same report, conspicuously absent from Bollaert. On a night that should have been a flagship event for French football, two of its most powerful figures stayed away.
Lens celebrate, LFP under scrutiny
On the grass, Lens have every right to revel in this. They beat PSG, lifted silverware, and did it in front of their own roaring public. Thauvin’s goal and the team’s resilience under pressure will live long in local memory.
But away from the celebrations, the fallout is only beginning. By bypassing the spirit of neutral-venue rules, the LFP has reignited a wider debate about fairness and governance in domestic competitions. Questions now circle not just around this match, but around how and where future editions will be staged.
Lens hold the trophy. The LFP hold the controversy.
And with pressure mounting over their choice of host stadium, how long can French football’s organisers keep treating its showpiece as a home game for one of the contenders?
