With the sporting world in something of a state of flux and Soccer being one of it’s most widely attended pastimes, it comes as no real surprise that leagues and competitions across the globe have been suspended.
Although the halting of domestic leagues such as the MLS or the English Premier League is understandable, the need to also pause European competition is arguably more prevalent due to the cross-continent travel that is involved.
This means that UEFA’s flagship tournaments have been paused with no set return date and with the likes of the European Championships and the Champions League now on an indefinite hiatus, the question is what happens next?
In the light of developments due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe and related decisions made by different governments, all UEFA club competitions matches scheduled next week are postponed. #UCL and #UEL quarter-final draws have also been postponed.
— UEFA (@UEFA) March 13, 2020
Full statement: 👇
Due to UEFA receiving so much money in terms of broadcast and sponsor money, there will be a desire to bring the Champions League to a conclusion and although there may have to be concessions, there is still an intention to stage their annual showpiece final.
As to what those concessions will be, it may well mean that the competition schedule is curtailed slightly and in doing so, the Quarterfinals and Semi-finals are played courtesy of a single leg instead of usual two.
If this proves to be the case, then obviously there is the question of competitive advantage and whether there would still be a draw pitting teams either in front of their own fans or having to travel to an away venue.
Should that be the case with COVID-19, then it would have serious ramifications on the integrity of the competition and also the odds after the crisis, something which could prove to distort the outright betting markets.
However, there is perhaps a solution to all of this, something that would then at least give an element of fairness back to the tournament and that is to scale down the Champions League into a sole venue event.
With Istanbul already winning the bid to host 2020 final, it is well prepared to stage a handful more fixtures and therefore, you could take the Champions League from the Quarterfinals onwards and play them in one city.
This would mean an additional six matches would be needed to be played in the city of Istanbul, but when you consider that the likes of Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas all possess stadiums with capacities of over 40,000, there is no reason as to why these venues couldn’t lessen the strain.
If this were to be the case, then there would need to be a discussion regarding whether fans would be allowed to fly to Turkey, especially with the restriction of flights within the European Union at present.
One possibility is that the newly scaled-down tournament is played in front of Turkish fans only, of course on the proviso that it is safe to do so and if only for the simple reason, that UEFA won’t want such high-profile games played behind closed doors.
For anyone who has watched any level of competitive Soccer in this situation, they will know that regardless of competition status or player stature, the fixture becomes nothing more than a glorified training exercise.
This means Europe’s governing body will most likely want to at least try and create some form of spectacle and show to fans all around the world, that even if they cannot travel the show will and must always go on.
Of course, there is one key variable in all of this and that is no-one knows when the opportunity to play Soccer will resume and because of this, there is going to be an obvious knock-on for all major competitions around the world.
If the delay goes on longer than anticipated, it may mean that the 2020 season is one that never reaches a conclusion and instead of hitting the pause button, it becomes a hard reset for all parties involved.
That is the outcome which everyone hopes we can avoid, and a best-case scenario is that we have a slight delay in proceedings, meaning that everyone is fit and raring to go by June or July at the absolute latest.
With such an important competition in the balance, there will be a genuine clamor to finish it and therefore return to normality. Ultimately though, it is out of UEFA’s hands and now they must play the waiting game like everyone else.