UEFA are set to resume football by July or August with Champions League played behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Europe’s top leagues as well as major sporting events have all been put on hold as the deadly COVID-19 bug continues to sweep the globe.
Uefa are set to resume football by July or August with Champions League played behind closed doorsCredit: Getty
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The Premier League announced they will aim to finish the 2019/20 season before the 2020/21 campaign begins, and Uefa have the same stance despite postponing all competitions “until further notice”.
But according to the Independent and New York Times, the governing body want to target getting games up and running by July, permitting supporters in the stadium if needed.
It is claimed ending the Champions League and Europa League – their showpiece club tournaments – without a winner is “off the table”.
But both the finals, which were backdated a month from the initial May date, are now due to be played behind closed doors.
Uefa staged another video conference on Wednesday and it is understood national games will be cancelled until September.
It follows as Euro 2020 was postponed a year, which has already cost millions of pounds.
The Times say that cancelling seasons before it finishes “would cost both the European governing body and domestic competitions billions in lost TV revenue — £750 million for the Premier League alone.”
Aleksander Ceferin, the Uefa president, reckons it would be possible to wait until August to complete the existing competitions.
He told Italian paper La Repubblica: “There is the possibility of ending this season at the start of the next, which would then be delayed and begin later.”
And PFA chief Gordan Taylor has backed the plans.
He said: “I don’t see why there should not be a flexible approach by everyone to finish this season in the proper manner no matter how long it takes.
“Domestically there is a lot of money at stake which would have a massive impact for the game — we’re talking about three-quarters of a billion pounds in TV money.”
Premier League could have no teams in Europe next season if campaign is declared null and void
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
