UEFA has alternative plans to save football seasons

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - European football's governing body UEFA said on Friday that it made three plans to save seasons halted over the coronavirus pandemic.

"We could start again in mid-May, in June or even late June," UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin told an Italian daily, La Repubblica.

"The season will probably be lost," Ceferin said if the current situation remains the same in 2020 summer.

Many European football leagues such as English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Germany's Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1, Netherlands' Eredivisie, Portugal’s Primeira Liga and Turkish Super Lig were suspended for COVID-19 fears.

In March, UEFA put the 2019-2020 Champions League and Europa League fixtures on hold, and postponed the EURO 2020 for a year for the same reason.

Ceferin said that no one knows when this pandemic will be over and adding that the UEFA has been holding talks with leagues and clubs, but they should wait for now.

"There is also a proposal to end this season at the beginning of the next one and then start the next one a little later," Ceferin said.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 177 countries and territories, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows over 618,000 cases have been reported worldwide since last December, with the death toll above 28,600 and over 135,700 recoveries.