UEFA insists Premier league to conclude season as it is or with play-offs; will other leagues follow?
Leagues come to halt
Premier League is facing a challenge in deciding their confirmed Champions League spots and relegation spots without completing the season. They could decide these spots by one-off ties.
UEFA has developed 'new' guidelines after Thursday to formulate a plan for all the European leagues so that they finish their 2019/20 seasons.
All the five leagues in Europe have come to a halt after the coronavirus outbreak. Europe has been the worst affected continent in term of the pandemic deaths.
UEFA has indicated that the leagues will restart but in a different format to complete its season. The statement post-meeting read: "It is preferable that suspended domestic competitions would restart with a different format in a manner which would still facilitate clubs to qualify on sporting merit."
As far as Premier League is concerned, Liverpool has qualified for the Champions League after sitting 25 points clear on the top whereas Chelsea and Manchester United sit at number four and five respectively with three points difference and nine games left to play.
Norwich is bottom of the table, six points off safety, while Aston Villa are two points adrift and Bournemouth are in the relegation zone on goal difference.
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Looking at UK's condition due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is highly unlikely that the league would return before early June. UEFA is optimistic about the leagues being concluded by August as the month will witness the Champions League final match.
Leagues that are unable to complete their leagues due to deteriorating situation will host a one-off tie to decide the qualifiers and the relegation.
UEFA has also acknowledged the leagues getting prematurely cancelled with the governments don't lift the lockdown. One more possibility that could lead to early league cancellation was listed during the meeting, "insurmountable economic problems which make finishing the season impossible because it would put at risk the long-term financial stability of the domestic competition and/or clubs".
Another way out?
According to The Times, leagues are offered to make a decision based on points-per-game ratio. The decision that will secure current Premier League top four Liverpool, Man City, Leicester and Chelsea contenders in next Champions League, whereas, Manchester United take the Europa spot. Biggest losers? Arsenal and Tottenham as they will miss out on all European action.
The German Bundesliga has decided to send its top four teams Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach to the Champions League as all teams have played the same amount of games.
Serie A has minor difficulties as some top teams have played fewer games but if they go according to the points-per-game ratio, Lazio will make a surprise entry to Champions League. Along with Lazio, Juventus, Inter Milan and Altlanta could represent Italy in the Champions League next year.