With no end in sight on the coronavirus pandemic, UEFA made the decision to postpone the finals of both the Champions League and the Europa that were scheduled to be held in May 2020. As the global health crisis continues to persist, the body said new dates for the matches have yet to be determined.
In a statement, UEFA said it "has today formally taken the decision to postpone the ... matches, originally scheduled for May 2020," which are for the men's UCL and Europa final showdowns as well for the Champions League in women's competition.
Metro said the championship game for the Europa League was set to take place on May 27 in Gdansk while the UCL will follow on May 30 in Istanbul. These games will be moved indefinitely and the official advisory from UEFA indicated that "no decision has yet been made on rearranged dates."
The decision was made following the earlier postponement of the Euro 2020, which UEFA was agreed at to give room for the domestic leagues in Europe to be completed by June 30. It was targeted as well that with the adjustments made, both the Champions League and Europa League finals would push through as planned.
However, the coronavirus pandemic seems at a sustained level for now and the spread of the killer bug is unlikely to be halted anytime soon, thus prompting UEFA to move for the delay of the matches.
Following the announcement, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin issued a statement, saying "the health of fans, staff, and players has to be our number one priority and, in that spirit, UEFA tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely," per Bleacher Report.
"It is at times like these that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity, and altruism," the UEFA chief added.
In making known the decision, Ceferin assured that the programs of developing football for all member countries will continue, especially in the case of women's participation in the sport, which the executive said will continue to get funding at the grassroots level.
"Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole," Ceferin said.
The latest development is a testament to how severe the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the sporting events in the world. In Europe, Serie A in Italy proved to be the first casualty as the country was forced to total lockdown. As the number of deaths and infection continued to climb, league officials were left with no choice but to suspend the season.
Players and team officials also started catching the virus, which led to the game stoppages in La Liga, Premier League, and other major domestic competitions.
In the United States, all major leagues have been suspended, including the NBA, as the casualty list surged without let up. At the last count, deaths from around the world are nearing 13,000 while those infected already reached an estimated 294,000 cases.
