Lausanne (AFP)
If the season is stopped due to the coronavirus, places in European club competitions must be allocated to "sporting merit", warned UEFA on Thursday, ruling on a question that has stirred the national championships since the suspension of matches half-March.
The procedure for selecting clubs qualified for the Champions League and the Europa League should "be based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria," said the European Football Union (UEFA), which continues to push the same time to "complete the currently suspended national competitions".
UEFA, which met its Executive Committee on videoconference on Thursday, thus cuts short the scenario of a "white season", mentioned in particular in France, and which would have seen the clubs having participated in the Champions League 2019-2020 automatically renewed for the next edition.
Other speculations also fueled the idea of a European qualification awarded according to the UEFA club coefficient, a criterion that would have favored, for example Lyon, 7th in the French Championship at the time of the suspension, to the detriment of Marseille (2nd) or Lille (4th).
"Admission to European club competitions is always based on sporting merit," said UEFA.
"As a result, UEFA urges the national federations and the leagues to explore all the possible options for competing in all the national competitions giving access to the European competitions," the body added in its statement.
- No precision on the calendar -
Recalling that the health of the players and spectators "remains the primary concern", UEFA did not provide details on the calendar for the resumption of competitions.
One of the scenarios established by a working group bringing together the European Leagues and the European Association of Clubs (ECA), plans to complete the national competitions in early August and to complete throughout the month of August the Champions League , suspended mid-March at the stage of the round of 16.
According to a UEFA document consulted by AFP, the round of 16 would end on August 7 and 8 and the quarter-finals would be played between August 11 and 15. The semi-finals will be scheduled on August 18 and 19, the semi-finals on August 21 and 22, with the final scheduled on August 29.
The Europa League final would be scheduled on August 27 and the semi-finals on August 17 and 20.
"It is a very optimistic scenario because who can predict if the fountains will be open?" Wondered a source close to the discussions.
If the Dutch Championship has already announced its intention to end the season definitively, following a decision by the authorities, the German championship could restart it in May, behind closed doors.
Thus, the president of the German League (DFL) Christian Seifert indicated Thursday that the Bundesliga, stationary since mid-March, was "ready" to resume on May 9, if the German authorities give the green light.
This announcement could show the way for other championships, torn between health requirements and the need to end the season to collect the juicy television rights necessary for their financial balance.
© 2020 AFP