The latest new is that the Premier League is now primed to finish its current season following UEFA’s Euro 2020 decision to postpone Euro 2020 for a year as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
UEFA have given the thumbs up to the Premier League to wrap up the domestic season after officially postponing Euro 2020 until next summer. The governing body in a hitherto unprecedented move yielded to pressure exerted by their 55-member associations to push their flagship tournament to 2021immediately after an emergency meeting convened in Switzerland to mitigate the alarming, rapid spread of the coronavirus crisis that has overnight wreaked havoc on global sports.
As it currently stands, Euro 2021 will now take place between June 11- July 11 across a dozen European cities. With this latest move freeing up, and creating the required additional time for domestic leagues across Europe to be resumed and completed. To help facilitate and expedite this, a working group has been put together involving all league and club representatives to come up with new viable calendar solutions to ensure the smooth continuance of the Premier League without any further untoward disruptions.
UEFA aside, the Premier League will be convening an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss a possible plan.
The consequences of postponing Euro 2020 include the following:
- 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.
- Euro 2020 play-off matches scheduled for the end of this month will now be played in the international window at the start of June.
- Decisions on dates for other Uefa competitions in men’s and women’s football – including Women’s Euro 2021, Champions League and Europa League – will be taken and announced in due course.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said: “We are at the helm of a sport that vast numbers of people live and breathe that has been laid low by this invisible and fast-moving opponent.
“It is at times like these, that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism.
“The health of fans, staff and players has to be our number one priority and in that spirit, Uefa tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely – and I am proud of the response of my colleagues across European football.
“There was a real spirit of cooperation, with everyone recognising that they had to sacrifice something in order to achieve the best result.
“It was important that, as the governing body of European football, Uefa led the process and made the biggest sacrifice.
“Moving Euro 2020 comes at a huge cost for Uefa but we will do our best to ensure that the vital funding for grassroots, women’s football and the development of the game in our 55 countries is not affected. Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole.”
The move is not without its downsides as it is expected to cost UEFA millions in lost revenue besides creating more headaches for them moving Euro 2020 towards next summer, with one of the main issues being the availability of stadiums which are often used for other events like concerts especially in summer.
There’s also the scenario that whilst UEFA are in the midst of attempting to negotiate booking of stadiums subject to their availability, players at the domestic level could be out of contract by end June despite league games still needing to be played.
One legal expert said: “There are still a number of issues from a legal perspective to be resolved to ensure that the tournament can take place smoothly next summer.
“The agreements with the relevant stadia will need to be extended for another year, which could cause conflicts between stadium owners, tournament organisers and others in the wider entertainment industry who had planned to hold events at the stadium during that time.
“Tickets which had already been sold in record numbers for the tournament will potentially need to be refunded. Other commercial agreements that were in place will also need to be reviewed and perhaps amended at great cost to the companies involved.
“However, this decision potentially opens up the door to an extension of the club season, which will come as a welcome relief to Europe’s major leagues.
“It remains to be seen how each league plans to deal with the inevitable fixture backlog, but it looks like they are caught between a rock and a hard place here.
“Even if the season is extended, there are other contractual issues that will keep clubs, agents and administrators fully occupied for weeks to come. Most pressingly, this includes how to deal with playing contracts, which may now come to an end before the end of the season, and commercial partners, who may feel they have been left short changed by the events.
“This is especially the case in situations where there may be a conflict between existing sponsors for this season and next season’s sponsors who may have been due to start activating their rights before this season has formally concluded.”
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham welcomed the decision despite all the potential, attendant pitfalls, saying: “People’s health and well-being have to be the primary concern for us all, so we fully support UEFA’s decision to postpone EURO 2020.
“We will be considering the implications for all England teams and our organisation over the coming days, including any implications on the date of the 2021 women’s EURO which we are very proud to be hosting.
“We will continue to work in collaboration with the Premier League, English Football League and our football partners on the scenarios that could follow UEFA’s decision today and ensure we are ready to put them into immediate action once it is appropriate to do so.
“Until then, we will continue to follow the advice of Government and the health authorities.”