UEFA have announced that Champions League qualifiers will take place on either August 25 or 26, meaning that Dutch team AZ Alkmaar will not be able to play their home match in the Netherlands.
Netherlands currently has a ban on paid professional sporting events, including events that draw large crowds until at least September 1, as a response to the global coronavirus pandemic crisis.
Four other Dutch teams playing in European football matches, including Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, and Willem II will not be affected by UEFA’s scheduling.
Ajax are likely scheduled to play on the 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th of September in Champions League play, while Willem II have their first Europa League match on September 17. PSV will follow up a week later.
Consequently, UEFA has vouched for Dutch association KNVB’s decision to cut short the 2019-2020 season and will be awarding teams’ positions in the Champions League and Europa League based on the standings of the teams at that time. The European Football Association’s voice of support for KNVB has come in the wake of the controversy resulting from the decisions by the KNVB when they were announced to the public.
UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti iterated at a press conference last week that the KNVB had taken the European organization’s guidelines and had adhered to them. AZ Alkmaar and FC Utrecht on the rebound both sent cases to UEFA showing their displeasure at the way the KNVB had handled the situation.
AZ Alkmaar stirred the waters as they felt that they should have been given the Champions League place without being required to qualify for it after having beaten League leaders Ajax twice. But as it were, Ajax was seated tops due to their stronger goal differential when the league was halted.
KNVB subsequently resorted to using the final league standings before the season was halted to determine the outcome of which teams would go to the Champions League, Europa League and who would remain in the Netherlands.