Resolve Placings ‘On Sporting Merit’ – UEFA Tells European Leagues

• As COVID-19 bites, no penalties for abrupt finishing
• Scotland may end 2019-20 season

The UEFA’s Executive Committee rose from its video-conference on Thursday, producing the much-needed clarification for leagues across Europe currently on forced break due to the rampaging coronavirus pandemic

It however confirmed that national leagues will not be axed from European competitions if they end their seasons early and must decide for themselves how to determine final placings “based on sporting merit”.

The emergency rules, announced after an Executive Committee meeting, mark a sharp departure in approach from European football’s governing body.

But the top line remains a “strong recommendation” to finish the season, and even suggests a preference for adopting a different format, such as a play-off, before cancelling. Insisting that qualification for next season’s club competitions must be done on “sporting merit”, UEFA reaffirmed its belief that the 2019-20 season should be played to a complete finish where possible.

The football season has been postponed across majority of Europe due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the Champions League and Europa League on hold and all major domestic leagues suspended, or in some cases, abandoned.

The Belgian Pro League was the first to be called off early, while Scottish lower league clubs recently voted to end their seasons and the Dutch Eredivisie is set to be abandoned after all football in the country was banned until September 1, 2020

Nevertheless, as the coronavirus crisis deepens, there is a general acceptance that national competitions, with Scotland and the Netherlands foremost among them, are facing extraordinary circumstances.

UEFA has laid out two primary conditions under which it would accept the abandonment of a league. The first would involve being instructed to do so by a government, which is the case in the Netherlands; the second is “insurmountable economic problems”.

The announcement cites a request from Scottish Football authorities for clarity on the rules. The Scottish Premiership is now expected to bring its season to an end.

According to the European soccer governing body; “The ideal scenario, should the pandemic situation permit it, is to have the currently suspended domestic competitions completed … in their original format. Should this outcome not be possible, it would be preferable that suspended domestic competitions would restart with a different format in a manner which would still facilitate clubs to qualify on sporting merit.”

The statement however said: “While using best efforts to complete the domestic competitions, national associations and/or leagues might have legitimate reasons to prematurely terminate their domestic competitions.”

The Association then requests that, if terminated leagues are to submit clubs to European competitions in the 2021-22 season, they should do so “based on sporting merit”, determining final placings “on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory principles”.

While leaving open some flexibility, the recommendation would seem to encourage a solution where an incomplete league table is organised on a points-per-game basis.

However, the caveat is that UEFA reserves the right to refuse nations or clubs to compete in the Champions League and Europa League if these criteria have not been met.

It stipulates a further reason for termination that may be acceptable; namely if it has been done on “the basis of any other legitimate public health reasons”.

This final clause will be interpreted by some as leaving open the possibility for even the biggest leagues to stop their seasons should the pandemic not allow a safe resumption of competition.

Additionally, UEFA announced it would be advancing €70m (£61.2m) from its “national team competition revenues” to clubs which released players for the European qualifiers and the Nations League.

It was also confirmed that the men’s European Championship will retain the name Euro 2020 despite having been rescheduled for the following year – The Guardian and Goal.com