UEFA will try its best to keep its final date, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The one of the Champions, next May 30 in Istanbul and the one of the Europa League, three days before in Gdansk. For this, the Daily Mail points out, the highest body of European football will debate the measures and the most plausible aims to be to play the remainder of the competition, once the current round has been completed, in a single match.
In this sense, the scenarios to be evaluated by the UEFA rectors, according to the English newspaper, would be deciding where those clashes take place. One option would be in a neutral stadium and another, in one of those involved in the crossing, but as a result of a draw. With an optimistic margin to resume the competition in April, the calendar leaves little room for maneuver and the Mail states that the highest body has installed “a growing feeling that the single-party rounds are the solution.” With a caveat, of course.
Russia offers to save the Euro Cup.
The suspension and postponement of the Eurocup could allow everything to be rescheduled, so that the national championships and UEFA itself calibrated the situation and could relocate their full schedule. But Russia, one of the host countries of the competition that should be held next summer, has reached out in the last hours. Initially, the Russian Federation was going to host three matches of the first phase of the Euro Cup and one of the quarterfinals. However, it has now been publicly offered to UEFA, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. Russia is volunteering to organize more matches if UEFA asks to keep the dates. Italy, the country where the opening match was to be played, is one of the hardest hit by the pandemic.
Furthermore, Spain, Germany and France are also being hit hard by the virus. “On the dates scheduled for Russia's participation in the Eurocup, we could host more matches, if UEFA asks us to,” Chernyshenko said bluntly. It has done so protected by the coronavirus data in your region. In Russia, only 45 cases and no deaths have been confirmed so far, despite sharing kilometers of border with China. The Russian offer is striking. Expelled from the Tokyo Games by a four-year sanction for state doping, Russia can participate in the Soccer Euro Cup and will also host the 2021 Champions League final (Saint Petersburg). Now his government is opposed to receiving more Euro games, so that the sport in his country remains on the front line.