COVID-19 aka the Coronavirus continues to devastate the lives of millions worldwide, including the governing body of UEFA who recently had to announce the postponement of the EURO 2020 competition and UEFA club competitions. Following last week’s news that EURO 2020 would be pushed back to 2021, this Monday UEFA announced the Champions League final, originally set for the 30th May, is now indefinitely suspended.
The Champions League
The Coronavirus has shown no mercy on the sports world as events and competitions are canceled or rescheduled by the day. Another added to the list this Monday morning was the Champions League final scheduled for the 30th May at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
This announcement came as no shock considering the outcome of sports news in recent weeks, UEFA also included the Europa League final and UEFA Women’s Champions League final to the list of postponed events, both were originally scheduled to take place in May.
All three matches will now be rescheduled with no new dates yet and an unforeseeable future.
“UEFA has formally decided to postpone the club finals originally scheduled for May 2020,” a spokesperson said.
“The working group, established last week as a result of the conference call among the stakeholders of European football, which was chaired by UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin, will analyze the options available. The group has already begun its examination of the calendar. Announcements will be made in due course.”
“No decision has yet been made on rearranged dates. The working group, established last week as a result of the conference call among the stakeholders of European football, which was chaired by UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin, will analyze the options available.
“The group has already begun its examination of the calendar. Announcements will be made in due course.” UEFA announced.
OFFICIAL: UEFA have postponed the men’s and women’s Champions League finals, and the Europa League final.
A decision on rearranged dates is TBD. pic.twitter.com/OEWkKiJSJ0
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 23, 2020
Schedules and fixtures throughout the world of sports are unpredictable as of now; the turmoil created through the coronavirus pandemic is having a ripple effect that doesn’t seem to be ending. The Soccer world is now approaching a full month before the first set of fixtures was canceled and things only continue to worsen. Almost all sports are on hold according to SBR.
There is no promise for any fixtures to resume, let alone entire competitions taking place, so the main concern is figuring out a way that could allow competitions to conclude is the simplest and safest of ways. The problem with the men’s fixtures is that they’re at different stages and each country will have its own rules in regards to the coronavirus. This would cause timing issues for each respective country involved.
The Champions League has four last-16 matches that have already taken place, whilst the second legs of the other four fixtures remain. The Europa League has six first-leg fixtures already behind them and has just two remaining.
Hypothetically speaking; UEFA could rule out second-leg ties that haven’t already played their first game which would see Spanish and Italian teams undergoing a 1-leg matchup with a flip of a coin dictating the destination. This rule could also be implemented into the quarters and Semi-finals.
Talks of weekend fixtures have already been touched on and the longevity of the Champions League won’t be as detrimental in comparison to domestic competition and how their heavy schedule can be concluded.
UEFA EURO 2020
The announcement of the UEFA domestic competition postponements follows last Tuesday’s statement from UEFA regarding the European International team competition EURO 2020.
24-countries were set to take place in this year’s European Championship, which would’ve been held at various venues across Europe marking the 60th anniversary of the competition. With the pandemic reaching scary figures, it has now been rescheduled for June and July in 2021.
An emergency video conference was held by UEFA including all 55 of its representatives from clubs and leagues. The postponement will be significant and aiding European domestic leagues the freedom to reschedule and finish their season with more freedom.
The European Championship will take a huge financial hit due to the outbreak and cancellation, somewhere in the region of 2 billion with sponsors and broadcasting companies will feel the backlash that the virus is causing.