According to an ‘exclusive’ from the Telegraph, UEFA are set to ask Premier League clubs to finish the season by June 30th.
The Premier League has been shut down until April 4th after the ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced their hand last Friday, but the situation as to when football could resume has been up in the air ever since.
Matt Law’s’ piece for the Telegraph reveals that UEFA are meeting today to ratify the postponement of EURO 2020 – which now looks set to take place next year instead – but have also discussed when major European leagues should restart.
As a result, it’s reported that they’ll ask Premier League clubs to complete the 2019/20 season by June 30th – something the league now looks set to discuss ahead of an ’emergency meeting’ on Thursday.
The Telegraph insist that ‘the majority’ of top flight sides are still in favour of completing the season, yet state that government projections currently have the coronavirus crisis to ‘peak’ in England over the next ’10-14 weeks’ – something which would make UEFA’s suggestion to finish the league by June seem pretty unrealistic at present.
Here’s a snippet from Matt Law’s ‘exclusive’, which also touches on UEFA’s proposals for Champions League and Europa League football:
Premier League clubs are expected to find out today that Uefa want the European domestic season to be completed by the end of June.
Europe’s governing body also want the Champions League and Europa League to be completed and believe all leagues across Europe should restart at the same time.
That will spark more fears that the season may have to be declared void if the coronavirus outbreak makes it impossible for clubs to complete their fixture lists by June 30.
Government projections currently have the coronavirus crisis in England peaking in 10 to 14 weeks, which would take it into June.
Uefa are meeting today to ratify the postponement of the European Championships until 2021 and discuss plans for how the league seasons in Europe might be completed.
Premier League clubs will discuss Uefa’s proposals during an emergency conference call on Thursday, with the majority still in favour of trying to complete the season.
But the League will need more than a month in which to play the remaining nine or 10 games, meaning it would have to restart by the end of May to stand any chance of finishing by June 30.
Europe is in lockdown and there is no prospect of the Premier League season restarting on April 4, when it is currently suspended until.
In order to complete this season’s Champions League and start next season’s competition at the normal time, Uefa would require Europe’s leagues to restart at the same time.
That brings its own problems, as it is too hot to play football in many European countries during July and early August.
That means Uefa ideally want Europe’s domestic seasons and this season’s Champions League and Europa League to finish by the end of June.
One proposal is to truncate the Champions League with both semi-finals and the final played over a four-day period in the Turkish capital Istanbul. If agreed, the same would apply to the Europa League where the final is due to take place in the Polish city of Gdansk.
