UEFA set dates for restart of Europa League
Rangers allowed to conclude last-16 tie
THE second leg of Rangers’ last-16 Europa League tie with Bayer Leverkusen will go ahead in August – with the qualifying campaign for the next edition of the tournament getting under way days after the final.
At a briefing at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, the European football governing body’s president Aleksander Ceferin and deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti outlined their vision for how to conclude the 2019/20 Champions
League and Europa League campaigns, as well as providing details for the following season’s continental competitions.
All matches from the quarterfinal stage onwards will be played in Germany between August 10-24 across four cities: Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen; Rangers’ second leg against Leverkusen will go ahead on August 5/6 – possibly at the Bay Arena provided it is deemed safe – just days after the Scottish Premiership begins.
The Ibrox club lost the first leg 3-1 at home to Peter Bosz’s side before the coronavirus pandemic brought all
European football to a halt.
There are two Europa
League last-16 ties that did not play their first leg before the Covid-19 crisis struck – Inter Milan v Getafe and Sevilla v Roma – and both will now go ahead as one-legged ties to be played at a neutral venue in Germany. Gdansk, which was originally meant to be the venue for the 2020 Europa League final, will now host the 2021 final.
No decision has been made on which of the four German stadiums will host this year’s showpiece event but Schalke’s Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen is believed to be the most likely venue.
The Champions League, meanwhile, will be played to completion in Lisbon. All matches from the quarterfinals onwards will go ahead in the Portuguese capital from August 12-23.
The remaining last-16 games will be played on August 7/8 at the originally-planned venues but this could change if it is not deemed safe to do so. In that event, the Estadio Dragao, home of Porto, and Guimaraes’ Estadio D. Afonso Henriques will be used as venues for the last-16.
The second leg of Juventus v Lyon currently remains scheduled to be played in Turin, while Barcelona v Napoli will go ahead at the Camp Nou so long as it is safe for players and coaching staff.
Ceferin went on to explain why Portugal and Germany had been chosen as host nations for the final stages of each tournament.
“The Portuguese FA could easily organise an event like that,” he said. “I have to say that it was not a fight between Germany, Spain and Portugal. They just offered as help, they said that they are ready to host one of the competitions.
“In the end we decided the Champions League goes to
Portugal, Europa League goes to Germany.”
Ceferin added that it was of the “utmost importance” that the competitions were played to a conclusion, and praised the “unsung heroes” who have been on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus.
He said: “I am delighted that we are able to resume almost all of our competitions. I am confident that we will not have to endure the fans’ absence for long and that they will be allowed into stadiums sooner rather than later.
“UEFA took a bold decision when it decided to postpone Euro 2020. But in doing so, we created the space which has allowed domestic club competitions across the continent to resume, where possible, and play to a conclusion. While the game has suffered huge difficulties as a result of the pandemic, those
The Portuguese FA could easily organise an event like that
blows would have landed much harder if we had not shown leadership in those early days.
“The football community has worked together and shown tremendous unity during this unprecedented crisis. I would like to thank FIFA, our sister confederations, national associations, clubs, leagues, players and the relevant authorities for their continuous support and commitment and I am convinced that we come out of this crisis stronger and with closer links than ever before.
“It is of the utmost importance for us not only to complete our men’s and women’s competitions but also to finish our youth and futsal competitions whenever possible.
“We are firm believers of their importance and significance of the overall growth and development of the game, and I am delighted that we found solutions to stage the final rounds of all those competitions.
“Particularly with the Women’s Champions League, it was important to send a strong signal that it is possible to complete this season, in a time where women’s sports have suffered substantially. This competition has exciting times ahead with the format change in 2021/2022 and we want to enhance the momentum in the women’s game, not lose it.
“Finally, I would like to convey a heartfelt message of appreciation and gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of unsung heroes who worked tirelessly on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is their dedication and bravery that has allowed our societies and football to return so quickly. Without their effort and sacrifices, none of this would have been possible.”