UEFA will consider the match lost to the Federation that cannot line up 13 players

The UEFA Executive Committee has approved on Monday several measures as part of an action protocol in the event that an international match cannot be held in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, and decided that If a team cannot line up 13 players, or reschedule the match date, it will be declared lost by the Federation in charge of organizing the match..

The following criteria, which “should be applied in the event of postponed or canceled matches”, are intended to “ensure that they can develop as planned”. However, positive Covid-19 cases following pre-match testing may result in groups of players or entire teams being quarantined and federations being unable to line up a team following a decision by the national authority or competent local. In this way, given the “calendar congestion”, UEFA has approved that in the event that a group of players from a selection is placed in quarantine or mandatory isolation by the authorities, “the match will proceed as planned provided the team has at least 13 players available (including at least one goalkeeper)“.

But if a national federation is not in a position to line up a team with the minimum number of players (13 including at least one goalkeeper), “the match will be rescheduled, if possible, on a date to be set by the UEFA administration, which will also have the power to assign it to a headquarters that may be in a neutral country. In any case, the local team will remain responsible for the organization of the match and all related expenses. ”And if the match cannot be rescheduled, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee will be in charge of making a decision. about it.This committee will declare the game lost to the national federation that is responsible for the game not being held or not being able to be played in its entirety Unless this body reaches the conclusion that both teams or neither are responsible for the game not being held or cannot be played in its entirety, which means that the game cannot be considered lost. “

“If it cannot be declared lost, the outcome of the match will be decided by a draw (e.g. 1-0 win, 0-1 loss or 0-0 draw) conducted by the UEFA administration“And if any member of the refereeing team designated for a match tests positive for Covid-19,” UEFA may, exceptionally, appoint substitute referees who could be of the same nationality as one of the national associations and / or not appear in the FIFA list “.