The Premier League and other European leagues have been given until May 25 by UEFA to provide plans to restart their season.
European football’s governing body has issued guidelines to all 55 associations after an agreement last week that qualification for next season’s Champions League and Europa League must be decided on ‘sporting merit’ this season.
The guidance, issued by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis states: “National associations and/or leagues should be in a position to communicate to UEFA by 25 May 2020 the planned restart of their domestic competitions including the date of restart and the relevant competition format.”
UEFA has also asked associations, such as the Dutch FA, to “explain the special circumstances justifying such premature termination” by the same deadline, in relation to the clubs it wants to compete in Europe next season. UEFA’s Executive Committee will hold its next conference call on May 27, where it intends to reach a decision over whether this season’s European competitions can be completed in August.
But UEFA’s top officials will be sympathetic to any league that is unable to provide clarity by May 25, due to on-going government uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic.