UEFA and Europe’s top clubs have expressed determination to ensure that the current football season, put on hold by the global Coronavirus pandemic, is played to a conclusion.
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This followed a warning by UEFA, that teams may be excluded from next season’s Champions League, if their domestic competitions are ended prematurely.
In a joint letter released on Thursday, UEFA, the European Club Association (ECA), and the European Leagues body, representing almost one thousand clubs in 29 countries, said they are working on the possibility of playing the season into July and August, if need be.
The Champions League and Europa League, both of which are in the last-16 stage, because of the outbreak, could be completed once the domestic seasons are finished, and “stopping competitions should really be the last resort after acknowledging that no calendar alternative would allow to conclude the season.”
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The joint response came after the Belgian Pro League announced that it recommended declaring the season concluded, with the current table adopted as the final.
It is the first European league to take such a measure, although more could follow.
This means that Club Brugge will in theory, go straight into the next Champions League group stage, but UEFA, the ECA and the European Leagues, have indicated that they may be barred from continental competition, if the Belgian league decision is finalised.
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“It is of paramount importance that even a disruptive event like this epidemic does not prevent our competitions from being decided on the field, in accordance with their rules and that all sporting titles are awarded on the basis of results,” the joint letter said.
“We are confident that football can restart in the months to come – with conditions that will be dictated by public authorities – and believe that any decision of abandoning domestic competitions is, at this stage, premature and not justified.”
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“Since participation in UEFA club competitions is determined by the sporting result achieved at the end of a full domestic competition, a premature termination would cast doubts about the fulfilment of such condition.”
The letter concluded: “UEFA reserves the right to assess the entitlement of clubs to be admitted to the 2020/21 UEFA club competitions.
“The Belgian Pro League said it had had “constructive” discussions with UEFA on Friday morning in which it “contested any approach which would force a league to continue in the current health crisis”.
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It has called for a “varied approach”, based on the specifics of individual leagues and countries. UEFA has set up two working groups to devise a way for European football to get out of the crisis caused by the pandemic.
One is tasked with looking at the legal and financial consequences of the crisis, while the other is devising a new match calendar.
UEFA and the clubs have set a mid-May target for deciding on the most viable option for completing the season.
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There have been calls in other countries for this season to be declared null and void, but any option, which rules out completing this season could have serious consequences for leagues reliant on huge television deals, and who could find themselves having to reimburse broadcasters if remaining matches are not played.
Justifying its decision, the Belgian Pro League said it was “very unlikely” to be able to hold matches in front of crowds before 30 June, and that it had “unanimously decided that it was not desirable…to continue the competition” after that date.
The decision still needs to be formally validated at a General Assembly on April 15, 2020.
