UEFA to propose ‘major revolution’ to complete competitions – report

Add as preferred source on Google

The Mirror reports that UEFA are to propose a ‘major revolution’ in approach on Tuesday which would allow both the Champions and Europa League competitions to be completed.

A summit is due to be held early next week involving all 55 member associations and it’s suggested that at this point, the intention is to ensure club competitions aren’t scrapped.

It’s asserted that with club football in Europe’s top leagues not returning until April at the earliest, there will not be sufficient time to finish either the Europa League or Champions League in their current formats.

However, what will allegedly be proposed is a switch to one-leg ties for the quarter-final and semi-finals of both competitions.

The intention would be to complete all currently live ties, including Rangers vs Bayer Leverkusen, before using venues for subsequent rounds that are either neutral or decided upon by the flip of a coin.

It’s also reported that there’s a ‘determination’ to play the finals as scheduled, with the Europa League set to conclude on 27th May in Gdansk and the Champions League final in Istanbul on 30th May.

The concept of postponing Euro 2020 for a year will also be discussed. That would provide additional time to complete domestic leagues and UEFA club competitions.

Verdict

There are still several days to pass before the UEFA summit, but if this report is correct, it seems the governing body are open to changes, but strongly against the idea of writing off their competitions altogether.

Theoretically, if top-level football does resume in April, the plan to complete current ties before moving to one-leg meetings does sound workable.

Yet, the main issue is the uncertainty around resumption dates. With cases of coronavirus not set to peak in the UK for many weeks [The Guardian], it’s hard to imagine sporting events returning to normal for the foreseeable future.

We are very much in unchartered territory right now, and it’s understandable if UEFA doesn’t want to throw in the towel straight away, but the safety of the players, staff and supporters of member clubs has to be the most important thing on the agenda next week.