Paris (AFP)
Belgium whistle the end game: The Belgian Football League recommended Thursday to end definitively the championship interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, a first drastic measure in Europe which could snowball on the Old continent.
Meeting in audioconference, the board of directors of the Pro League "decided unanimously that it was not desirable, whatever the scenario envisaged, to continue the competition after June 30". And expressed the wish, above all, "not to resume competitions in the 2019-2020 season".
This opinion must now be ratified by the General Assembly of the body on April 15, but it should only be a formality. Belgium, the first nation in the Fifa ranking, would then become the first elite European football championship to take this drastic step.
Concretely, this is the play-off phase, disputed in the form of a closing mini-championship, which will not take place.
The League claims to have made its decision after having "taken note" of the recommendations made by the authorities, "according to which it is very unlikely that matches with the public can take place before June 30", an argument that will thrill supporters of the other championships.
- FC Bruges champion? -
"Even if matches behind closed doors were theoretically possible, the additional pressure that the organization of these matches would place on the health services and the police should be avoided," the Pro League said in a statement.
According to an official report communicated Thursday by the health authorities, the pandemic of the new coronavirus caused the death of more than 1.000 people in Belgium.
Decree a white season, without champion or relegated? Freeze the classification at the end of the first leg? Or after the last full day contested? In this debate which has agitated all the big championships these last weeks, sometimes in a virulent way, the Belgians opted for the last option.
Unanimously, the administrators of the League agreed "to accept the current classification of the Jupiler Pro League as final classification", they specify.
At the time of the suspension of the championship, that is after 29 disputed days, FC Bruges occupied the leader's chair with a large lead (15 points) over La Gantoise, second with only one point ahead of Charleroi.
- Financial implications -
In this configuration, FC Bruges would qualify directly for the group phase of the lucrative Champions League. La Gantoise would be content with the third preliminary round of C1.
However, the fate of Waasland-Beveren, a red lantern and therefore relegated potential, is not yet known. "The issue of relegation is not yet settled and will have to be studied by the working group" set up Thursday, according to a spokesman for the Pro League contacted by AFP.
This working group established by the League is responsible for examining "the sports problems and the financial implications of this decision".
The negotiations promise to be close, in particular with television broadcasters who, like elsewhere in Europe, provide a very large part of the revenue to Belgian clubs.
The contract, sealed with the trio Proximus-Voo-Telenet and expiring at the end of this season, turns according to the Belgian media around 82.5 million euros per season.
The working group will also have to deal with "the possibility of playing the final" of the Belgian Cup, which was to oppose Club Bruges against Antwerp, and on the epilogue of the Second Division Championship.
© 2020 AFP