UEFA warns FAs: finish season or face Champions/Europa League exclusion
UEFA has warned its 55 members that they must finish their respective league seasons unless they have been specifically prohibited to do so by way of a government order.
UEFA’s Executive Committee has warned its 55 member federations that they must finish the current 2019/20 league season or face exclusion from the Champions League and Europa League. The only exception to this stance will be where a government order prevents them from doing so.
In a communication sent to all its members, UEFA said it reserved the right to exclude from its continental competitions any federation that terminates the season prematurely. However, UEFA has outlined two specific reasons for which federations would be excused for not completing the 2019/20 fixtures.
The first would be in the case that an official government order prohibiting sporting events meant that the current season could not be completed before the 2020/21 season is set to begin.
The second case would be if insurmountable financial issues make it impossible to end the season because it would jeopardise the long-term financial stability of the national competition and/or the clubs themselves.
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LaLiga ready to play behind closed doors
In relation to the first point, and according to sources consulted by Diario AS, LaLiga forged an agreement with the Spanish FA and the National Sports Council (CSD) at a meeting on Saturday to resume fixtures in June, provided the decision is approved by Spanish health authorities.
Following this agreement, the CSD on Thursday sent the proposed protocol to be authorized by the Ministry of Health, which will ultimately decide if LaLiga can resume in June. The agreed protocol would see all clubs “working within a confined regime” closed off to the public and all remaining matches played behind closed doors.
Regarding the second point, our LaLiga sources have stressed that the greatest financial risk for clubs at this time would in fact stem from the 2019/20 season not being completed.