(Fighting new crown pneumonia) UEFA delays the European Cup by one year
China News Agency, Berlin, March 17th (Reporter Peng Dawei) The European Football Federation announced on the 17th that the 16th European Cup was postponed for one year from June to July 2021 due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. The five major leagues of the European Football League, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 have all been suspended.
The European Football Confederation (UEFA) is based in Nyon, Switzerland and is responsible for the management of football affairs in the European Region. It is the football agency representing Europe.
It is reported that the current European Cup was originally scheduled to open on June 12, 2020 local time and was jointly organized by 12 cities. The extension will be held from June 11th to July 11th, 2021 local time. The European preliminary round that was scheduled to start in late March was initially scheduled for the international competition day in early June. UEFA has stated that it will refund the full amount based on the face value of the ticket holders who cannot attend the European Cup in 2021.
After the decision was announced, European footballers generally expressed their understanding. German Football Association President Keller said, "Only we can unite to survive this crisis together, and we have no choice but to postpone the European Cup." German team coach Loew said that all of us must guarantee people's health and safety. And of course the same is true in football.
Finland's coach Spalf said that although this year is the first time that Finland has reached the European Cup finals, the team has been waiting for this for a long time, but "from a more grand perspective, football is just a very small thing. The question now is life and death, to curb the spread of the virus. So delay is a good decision. "
Prior to this, the Premier League had announced the suspension of the league on April 13th and April 4th; the La Liga league said on the 12th that they agreed to suspend at least the next two rounds of La Liga and La Liga. Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A have also taken similar measures in the past week. (Finish)