Uefa will discuss on Tuesday a rescheduled date for this summer’s Euro 2020, with reports suggesting an expected delay in the championships will allow the 2019/20 Premier League season to be completed.
The European football calendar has been thrown into disarray by the coronavirus pandemic, with the five major leagues suspending competition until further notice.
The Premier League was the last to take action, but late on Friday announced matches had been postponed with immediate effect. An April 4 date has been set as the earliest the league could resume.
However, much will depend on the outcome of Uefa’s emergency meeting, which is set to take place on Tuesday via video conference calling. It is believed European football’s governing body will discuss moving their marquee tournament as well as the Champions League and Europa League. Both those competitions have also been suspended.
Originally scheduled to run across the continent from June 12-July 12, moving the Euros to the summer of 2021 appears the most likely outcome, although a report in The Telegraph claims the 55 member associations will also discuss the possibility of playing the tournament this December.
Should that happen, it could then allow the Premier League and other club competitions to be completed this summer. The next World Cup is to be played mid-season - the first time the global finals will not take place in summer - with the Qatar tournament running from November 21-December 18 2022. That move had already caused the major European leagues to make provisions in their calendar to compensate for the disruption.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the pandemic, there remains significant doubt the English top flight will resume at the beginning of next month. Premier League clubs are expected to meet again on Thursday.
Speaking to the BBC this weekend, Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said: "Every league starts with an expectation of completing all 38 fixtures, as it is in the Premier League, and we want to be able to do that.
“Our intention must be to play the fixtures, but it's really hard to imagine putting on a football game in the Premier League in two or three weeks' time given the scenario we are in.”
West Ham vice-chairman Karen Brady caused significant ire on Saturday when in a newspaper column for The Sun she called for the season to be declared "null and void" if the outbreak shows no signs of abating.
At present, Liverpool lead the standings by 25 points with nine of their matches remaining. Chasing a first top-flight title in 30 years, they need two more wins to secure the trophy.
However, Barber said: "If we were to freeze the league it would be incredibly unjust for Liverpool to not be awarded the title, because everybody in the game appreciates what a fantastic season they have had. Equally it would be unjust for teams to be relegated with nine or 10 games to go in the Premier League.
"It's a possible option to leave the 20 teams in the league as it is, but bring the top two in the Championship up. It gives us a larger league, with four relegation places next season and then two teams coming up again. It has some merit, but there are a lot of issues to be worked through.
"If we can't complete the season we have to look at radical solutions to get over a short-term hump, as it is."
For the first time in its history, the Euros will be played across 12 cities, with London’s Wembley hosting the semi-finals and final. Italy, currently the European country most impacted by the coronavirus, was slated to host the opening match, with the national team taking on Turkey at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.
