Uefa to demand £275m from clubs and leagues to postpone Euro

Uefa to demand £275m from clubs and leagues to postpone Euro 2020 — reports

Sky Sports

Tuesday 17th March 2020


Euro 2020 is almost certain to be postponed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the globe, with domestic football in Europe likely being brought to a standstill until the summer at least.

Uefa confirmed last Friday that all fixtures in the Champions League and Europa League had been suspended due to the outbreak.

The governing body also announced that the draws for the quarter-finals of the Champions League and Europa League, planned for next Friday, have also been postponed.

All of Europe’s top leagues have faced widespread disruption, with the Premier League and EFL also postponing fixtures until the start of April at the earliest.

The Athletic report that Uefa will demand £275m in compensation from clubs and leagues to postpone Euro 2020 by a year.

Postponing the summer tournament would potentially allow for domestic football to play out their remaining fixtures and finish their season.

Uefa will decide if Euro 2020 will be postponed today


By Katie Sands


17 MAR 2020


European football's governing body will today decide whether to postpone Euro 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic brings sport to a virtual standstill.

One of the key decisions to be taken is whether to push the tournament back to the summer of 2021, with the intention of allowing 2019-20 competitions that have been suspended following the Covid-19 outbreak at least the chance to be completed.

It is expected Uefa will decide there is no option but to postpone.

Meetings will begin this morning and an announcement on any decision is not expected until mid to late afternoon.

It is expected that the UEFA leadership, including president Aleksander Ceferin, will be involved in a number of conference calls.

The Athletic report that Uefa will demand £275m from clubs and leagues to postpone Euro 2020 by a year, with domestic European football then potentially using this summer to complete their season.

If Euro 2020 were pushed back a summer, it is not yet known what this would mean for the Women's Euro 2021 tournament, being staged in England. Wales Women have four fixtures remaining in their qualifying campaign, two of which scheduled for April although under new UK Government advice it is hard to see how they can proceed.

Typical UEFA. Money grabbing Bs.

I think its bollox anyway.If it comes to it the European governments will dictate what get played and when.I just think this is someone mischief making.

It is expected that the Uefa leadership, including president Aleksander Ceferin, will be involved in a number of conference calls today.

The declaration of a state of emergency in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland means staff allowed into the building will be strictly limited.

The UEFA hierarchy has invited input from the European Club Association, the European Leagues umbrella body and world players’ union FIFPRO, with the views of those groups potentially to be sought on one call.

Ceferin and his executive team are then expected to speak via conference call to the member associations - all 55 have been invited to join.

Football Association of Wales chief executive Jonathan Ford is expected to be joining the call, as are Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham and chairman Greg Clarke and the Irish FA’s CEO Patrick Nelson.

The Football Association of Ireland is set to be represented by its president Gerry McAnaney and interim chief executive Gary Owens, while the Scottish Football Association delegates on the call are chief executive Ian Maxwell and president Rod Petrie.

Finally, the process is set to conclude with a call featuring members of Uefa’s executive committee.

FIFA to monitor with interest

World governing body FIFA is not directly represented at today’s meeting but the Press Association news agency reports it will be monitoring with interest in terms of its impact on the international match calendar.

Any decision to move the Euros to 2021 will have an impact on its plans to stage an inaugural 24-team Club World Cup in China in the same summer.

It would also mean that the scheduling of 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Europe would need to be looked at - these are due to take place between March and November 2021 with the final play-offs in March 2022.

EU leaders are set to hold their second summit in two weeks in a fresh attempt to forge a joint response to the coronavirus pandemic as Europe takes over from China as the frontline in the fight against the disease.

The virus case count in Europe has climbed to more than 50,000 and more than 2,000 people have died. The inexorable spread of the disease has hit markets and sown public fear, but nervous governments have introduced quick-fix measures - partial border closures or quarantine - with little consultation.

After Italy, ground zero in Europe’s battle with Covid-19, Spain and now France have imposed lockdowns, confining citizens to their homes except for urgent business such as buying food or heading to any hospital that might still have the capacity to treat them.

Seven countries have informed the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, that they have reintroduced ID checks inside Europe’s passport-free Schengen Area. Among them are Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, which all took unilateral action to halt the influx of migrants in 2015.

Euro 2020 has been postponed by a year to the summer of 2021 after coronavirus has brought the football world to a standstill.

The tournament had been due to be played between June 12 and July 12 this summer, in 12 cities across Europe with Wembley hosting the semi-finals and final. The new proposed dates are June 11 to July 11, 2021.

European football stakeholders convened on Tuesday to discuss the impact and fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, and Uefa were faced with the decision of postponing the tournament.

The delay means 2019-20 domestic competitions that have currently been suspended due to the outbreak at least have a chance to be completed.

Uefa said: "The health of all those involved in the game is the priority, as well as to avoid placing any unnecessary pressure on national public services involved in staging matches."