Chronicle Editor
UEFA have officially decided to postpone the Euros until the summer of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic decimating the football calendar.
It has been decided that the showpiece Euros will now take place between June 11 to July 11 next year.
During yesterday’s meeting involving Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, which included a series of video conferences, they decided to cancel this summer’s showpiece football event while the fate of this season’s Champions League and the Europa League are still set to be worked out.
Yesterday afternoon, Uefa released a statement regarding the Euro 2020 postponement, insisting they are giving priority to “completing domestic competitions” before admitting all club and national fixtures for both men and women “have been put on hold until further notice”.
The statement read: “Uefa today announced the postponement of its flagship national team competition, Uefa Euro 2020, due to be played in June and July this year. The health of all those involved in the game is the priority, as well as to avoid placing any unnecessary pressure on national public services involved in staging matches. The move will help all domestic competitions, currently on hold due to the Covid-19 emergency, to be completed.
“All Uefa competitions and matches (including friendlies) for clubs and national teams for both men and women have been put on hold until further notice. The Uefa Euro 2020 play-off matches and international friendlies, scheduled for the end of March, will now be played in the international window at the start of June, subject to a review of the situation.
“A working group has been set up with the participation of leagues and club representatives to examine calendar solutions that would allow for the completion of the current season and any other consequence of the decisions made today.
“The decisions, taken by Uefa’s executive committee, followed video conference meetings held today with the presidents and general secretaries of the 55 national associations, as well as representatives for the European Club Association, European Leagues and FIFPro Europe, convened by Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, to find a coherent plan to break to logjam of fixtures building up due to the spread of the virus across the continent.”
Potential issues may arise with some of the smaller federations, who are due a projected £14 million from the tournament, a sum which is vital to their existence.
An agreement may be reached which sees them given temporary funding until the tournament takes place next summer. The cost of postponement was also set to be discussed.
Meanwhile, Uefa are reportedly demanding £275 million from its member clubs and leagues to postpone the tournament by a year.
The governing body believes that amount would be required to push back the tournament by 12 months.
The priority of member leagues remains with completing the current campaign, rather than controversially scrapping any progress and achievements made to date.
There is also a reluctance to rule the season null and void due to the countless legal challenges that could be brought forward by disgruntled clubs. — Sportsmail.
Online Reporter