Lens Triumphs in Trophée des Champions: A Controversial Final

Lens opened their season in glory, raising the Trophée des Champions after a 1-0 win over PSG at a roaring Stade Bollaert-Delelis. Thauvin struck the only goal, and the Sang et Or dug in to protect their lead despite playing for a long spell with a man less.

On the pitch, it was a statement win. Off it, the night turned into a storm for French football’s authorities.

A “neutral” final in Lens’ living room

The Trophée des Champions is supposed to be a neutral showcase, a curtain-raiser with the scales balanced. The LFP chose something very different: Lens’ own stadium, their own stands, their own rituals.

It showed.

Madein Foot reported that around 95 per cent of the crowd backed Lens, with PSG fans limited to just 1,850 tickets in the away end. Visually and vocally, it looked and sounded like a classic Bollaert home game, not a neutral final between two domestic heavyweights.

The LFP didn’t just hand Lens the venue. They left the full match-day dressing in place. Traditional pre-match and half-time entertainment for the northern club stayed on the programme, wrapping the fixture in Lens’ colours and culture.

For PSG, it was effectively an away final. For the LFP, it was an open invitation to accusations of bias.

A sharp contrast with last year

The criticism has sharpened because the comparison point is so recent. In 2023, when PSG faced Toulouse at the Parc des Princes, the LFP went out of its way to strip out any sense of home advantage. The presentation was neutral, the crowd split strictly 50-50 between the two clubs.

This time, the approach flipped. No equal distribution of tickets. No neutral staging. No attempt to dilute the home flavour.

That inconsistency has fuelled anger around governance and fairness in French domestic competitions. One year, strict neutrality. The next, a final plunged straight into one club’s backyard.

The controversy also lands on top of existing tension. It comes less than a year after disputes surrounding a postponed fixture between PSG and Lens, an episode that had already strained relations and raised questions about decision-making at league level.

Big absences, bigger questions

The backdrop grew even more pointed with the notable absences in the stands. According to the same report, LFP president Vincent Labrune did not attend at Bollaert. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi was also missing.

Their non-appearance did nothing to soften the criticism or the sense of unease around the event. If anything, it underlined how politically charged this edition of the Trophée des Champions had become.

On the grass, Lens delivered. Thauvin’s decisive strike and the team’s resilience with a numerical disadvantage gave the club a memorable night and another piece of silverware. The celebrations were real, the noise deafening, the joy unfiltered.

Yet the echo around French football is different. The decision to bypass the neutral-venue principle has reignited the debate over how the LFP runs its competitions and where the line between spectacle and sporting integrity should be drawn.

Lens will savour their victory over Les Parisiens. The LFP, though, now faces mounting pressure to explain how this final was staged – and to decide whether future editions will feel like a national showpiece, or just another home game dressed up as one.