UEFA Euro 2020 is rumored to be moved to 2021
Set to begin on June 12 in Roma for the inaugural match Italy vs. Turkey, the UEFA Euro 2020 could be reschedule to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The tournament is to be spread over 12 countries across Europe with the majority of them affected by the current virus. With less than 90 days before the tournament opener, European official must decide quickly on the Euro.
Finish the domestic league
With all the national league in a 30 day hiatus, it seems improbable matches will go as planned. As it is the national leagues cannot conclude by end of May. It means the leagues are likely to finish well into June or even July. This schedule will obviously crash with Euro 2020 dates (June 12 to July)
The other option will be to take the current standings the domestic leagues. With still 10 or more games to be played this option is difficult to be accepted. Another option is to void the entire season. The latter created the most controversy.
Italian FA for postponement
Italy has been severely hit hard by the virus and the whole country has shut down. Gabriele Gravina, the football federation’s president was first to publicly speak amongst European FA’s and said: “We will propose to UEFA to postpone the staging of the European Championship to complete the championships.”
Indeed the priority is for the clubs to concluded their respective championship before playing the Euro.
“We believe that it is fairer and more correct to give an exact definition for the many sacrifices, commitments, investments carried out by our clubs.
“Italy is two weeks ahead [with coronavirus] compared to other nations, so what we will be able to plan for today for others will be complicated, because they do not yet have the exact size of the problem.
“We want to complete the championships. It is clear that the complicating factor is the presence of the European Championship, an event in which we too have invested much energy and sacrifices.
“We will tackle this on Tuesday.” added the Italian FA president
A decision is to come soon on Euro 2020. The same could very well happen to Copa America 2020 since so many South American players are playing in European clubs.
