EUROPEAN football chiefs have agreed to create space to finish the domestic leagues.
In Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin’s latest video conference with the 55 national associations, it was decided to put ALL international games on hold until at least September.
European football chiefs have agreed to create space to finish the domestic leaguesCredit: EPA
And that the remaining Champions League and Europa League ties will not be scheduled until later in the year — although there is still hope they can be finished by autumn.
That will leave room in the calendar so domestic leagues have a chance to be completed — especially the Premier League, Serie A, LaLiga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
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Uefa recognises that unless space is created for national leagues to be played out, there will be profound legal and calendar issues to deal with in the coming months and possibly years.
But with Prem chiefs recognising even a June restart may prove infeasible — unless there is a surprise turn in the fight against Covid-19 — timetabling issues are set to become an even bigger problem.
Ceferin and Co discussed various options over the possible resumption of the Euro competitions, with chief executive Mark Bullingham representing the FA.
Those included the proposed ‘last-four tournament’ in Istanbul and Gdansk if the semi-finalists can be produced.
But the likelihood of no football until deep into the summer has increased the view that domestic leagues must be prioritised at the expense of everything else.
There will be knock-on effects, with June’s rescheduled Euro 2020 play-offs and summer youth tournaments shunted back.
One idea gaining credence for when the internationals resume is that two-game windows are replaced by triple-headed dates.
That would allow the scheduled Nations League group games in the autumn to be completed by October.
And for the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign to start in November, five months earlier than planned.
March would then be freed for overdue Euro 2020 qualifiers and warm-up games.
Ceferin’s plan to ease Financial Fair Play rules was also agreed, although it has no impact on the ongoing case against Manchester City.
Uefa said: “This applies exclusively for 2020-21 competitions.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
