The earlier speculation around the UEFA Champions league 2019-20 was shot down by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin as he denied any reports of claiming that the competitions must come to an end by August 3.
The reports that suggested that 3rd August was the deadline put forward by UEFA for the completion of Champions League 2019-20 and Europa League were declined by the UEFA President despite claims that he had issued this statement earlier.
Coronavirus is spreading widely in the world and Europe is highly affected by the deadly virus. Just like the virus, there is no concrete solution to the problem in-hand and the best way possible to stay safe is a lockdown and suspending the leagues for indefinite period seams fare. When it comes to the betterment of humanity, football can wait for some time and the fans should respect the decision taken by UEFA.
UEFA Euro 2020 Pushed By A Year
The Euro 2020 tournament, one of the most prestigious tournaments in international football, was pushed by a year due to the pandemic and will now be played in 2021. The Champions League and Europa League have been put on a halt indefinitely with the second leg of last 16 round unplayed. For the time being, the UEFA president declared that European’s football governing body has €600 million in cash reserves to help clubs with financial ramifications caused by the COVID 19 virus.
In an official statement by UEFA on Sunday, the board stated that “The reports that suggested Aleksander Ceferin told ZDF in Germany that the Champions League must wind up by August 3 are not true as the President was very clear to not set exact dates.” As they continued to express their views on the ongoing leagues, UEFA spokesperson said, “UEFA is analysing various options to complete domestic and European seasons with the European Club Association and the European Leagues but the primary priority is to preserve public health.”
UEFA Postpones Soccer Amid Uncertainty
In a statement issued last week by UEFA, the board postponed more matches and deadlines without giving any indication on when European soccer might be able to resume.
The governing body kept itself away from giving a definitive timeframe on when the European Leagues might resume as completing the tournament remains a challenge for the authorities due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
UEFA’s executive committee also postponed the national team matches that had already been postponed to June, including the European Championship play-off qualifiers to complete the 24-team lineup.
The deadlines to all the UEFA matches and competitions are postponed indefinitely until further notice by the board and the football matches will be played as and when the situation gets better.
The board is figuring out its way through the calendar solutions to complete all the competitions and most likely the options are favourable for the matches to be held around July and August, depending on the permission of national authorities and restart dates. In the press release, UEFA mentioned, “A joint management of calendars is required as the conclusion of the ongoing season has to be coordinated with the beginning of the new one, which will also be impacted because of the overstretch of the current season.”
UEFA President Threatens With Ban
UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin was quite serious when he talked about the league suspension. He firmly stated that the leagues that end early without permission due to the Coronavirus pandemic could face a European competitions ban next season.
Belgium became the first European top-tier league to cancel the rest of the season, and this decision was made before UEFA, the European Club Association and the European Leagues’ umbrella group sent a joint letter to their members.
Ceferin announced that Belgium’s decision to cancel the remainder of the season was not taken in confrontation with UEFA and the country could face a ban from European competitions next year.
Ceferin continued as he said that the leagues are suspended until further notice and it will not be an acceptable decision to cancel the ongoing season without concerning UEFA.
Talking about the €600 million money reserve, he said, “We will use them if any case of financial need arises, but I don’t think that we are in danger of being financially weak or something like a financial crisis.”
After the UEFA released an open letter for the European leagues and clubs, it is quite clear that all the international and domestic leagues have postponed indefinitely and will be resumed as soon as the situations are better. For the time, UEFA has enough funds to support all the clubs and UEFA President further added that the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules could be postponed to further aid clubs against the growing economic concerns.
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