Rangers fans will be heading to Ibrox twice over the next few days as the club and the authorities appear to have cleared the matches against Leverkusen and Celtic despite the coronavirus outbreak.
UEFA has released a statement saying they’ll be discussing the impact of the virus on Tuesday, effectively paving the way for Ibrox to host Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen [UEFA].
The comments of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about postponing events with over 500 people as of Monday next week also suggest the Rangers v Celtic match at Ibrox on the Sunday isn’t under threat.
But with the British government reportedly set to move the global pandemic into the delay phase, what will it mean for the league season?
Earlier reports suggested that should the domestic league be halted the title could be handed to Celtic as per domestic powers [Daily Record].
Ending the season with everyone in their current positions would not go down well with the rest of the league with European and relegation spaces yet to be confirmed.
Not to mention Rangers’ outside chance of catching Celtic this season.
Another option is suspending the league season, picking it back up when the outbreak stops and potentially playing games over the summer months.
This would allow for the coronavirus to be dealt with before restarting the league season but there is no suggestion of when the outbreak will clear up.
Domestic league seasons – and European competitions – could also simply be cancelled early and voided with the intention of restarting everyone as if it is the beginning of the 2019/20 season when the virus is brought under control.
There is also the option of playing the matches behind closed doors, something which is apparently being considered by the UK government [Times].
That’s fine – but what about those cases, such as at Leicester City – where players may have contracted the virus?
With domestic shutdowns across Europe, UEFA has discussed their intention to speak about what happens in terms of domestic competitions when they meet next week.
Whether games are played behind closed doors, seasons suspended or even campaigns scrapped, things may well become clearer come that UEFA meeting on Tuesday the 17th.
