Coronavirus crisis leaves Uefa ‘in shock’ as crucial talks aim to salvage football season

Uefa has been left “in shock” by the Coronavirus crisis, a source close to European football’s ruling body told The Independent as the organisation prepares for a video conference tomorrow to discuss football’s response to the pandemic.

All 55 national member associations, the boards of the European Club Association and the European Leagues and a representative of FifPro, the global players’ union, will take part in the meeting to express their views during a critical period for the game.

Senior figures at Uefa’s Swiss headquarters are said to be “reeling” at the speed and impact of the disease’s spread. Nyon’s priorities are the European Championship and the organisation’s showpiece club competitions. It is expected that the Euros will be put on hold until 2021.

Various options are being considered for the Champions League and Europa League, including mini-tournaments in the respective final host cities of Istanbul and Gdansk that would complete the semi-finals and final in four days. The idea is that a concertinaed schedule would allow more time for domestic leagues to be completed but there are increasing doubts that the sport will be able to resume before the planned end to the campaign in May. The spike in Coronavirus infections in a number of European countries is predicted in mid-summer. League football may not restart until September.

This presents another problem for Uefa. The qualifying rounds for the Europa League are slated to begin in June and the Champions League in July. The governing body is keen to give guidance to its member leagues about potential resolutions to the looming fixture pileup, potential methods of finishing this season and start dates for the next campaign but Nyon cannot dictate to the FAs under its jurisdiction. The main lever to keep clubs in line is involvement in European competitions. Uefa needs to define a clear way forward to maintain confidence among its wide constituency, a disparate group with competing aspirations.

The first step would be to find a possible start date for next season. One of the fears is that various leagues across Europe might break step and begin operating to their own calendar as the impact of the epidemic waxes and wanes. No decision on this is expected tomorrow but the widespread cessation of fixtures allows Uefa some breathing space to address the problem. Lurking in the background, too, are the imminent reforms to the Champions League that have created controversy across the continent. The changes are due to be implemented in 2024 but were meant to be finalised this year so that television companies involved in the auction for the next round of rights would know what they were bidding on.

Uefa is keen to avoid the sort of public posturing that has occurred in England. After the announcement was made to suspend matches on Friday, Greg Clarke, the FA chairman, suggested that finishing the campaign was unlikely. Within 24 hours, Karren Brady, the West Ham United executive vice-chairman, used a newspaper column to declare that the season should be voided. In response, Paul Barber, the Brighton & Hove Albion chief executive, hit back by saying it would be “unjust” to deny Liverpool, the runaway Premier League leaders, the title. Clarke is now keen to reduce the temperature and ensure that the viewpoints of the clubs are expressed only in private.

There will be a number of opinions offered in tomorrow’s conference call but the overwhelming priority is finding a way to finish this season - ideally avoiding playing games behind closed doors. Whether that is possible will be determined by events outside the control of Uefa – or any football authorities – but Nyon is keen to ensure that the framework of the sport does not fracture under pressure from the virus.

Other governance issues will be placed on the backburner while the medical emergency persists. Manchester City’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to overturn their two-year Champions League ban for breaching financial fair play regulations will be put on hold. CAS are expected to postpone all hearings in the immediate future. City’s case, like the season, is likely to rumble on into the autumn.

The crisis may make the possibility of a negotiated settlement between Uefa and City less likely. The suspension of fixtures will have a huge financial impact on clubs across the continent and many outside the elite circle – especially in Europe’s lower leagues - will struggle to stay afloat if the situation continues unchanged over the coming months. City are one of the most fiscally secure clubs in the world and, whatever the future brings, will be in a powerful position to face the next era. The overwhelming majority of other teams are not in such a fortunate position. The economic consequences of Coronavirus could harden attitudes towards the English champions and the way they flouted spending restrictions.

Tomorrow Nyon begins the process of rebounding from the shock. The ruling body is facing a series of unprecedented circumstances. Whether Uefa is up to the challenge will become apparent in the coming months.