Belgians bid for UEFA’s approval on early finish
BELGIAN football authorities have moved to convince UEFA of the legitimacy of the decision to end their top-flight campaign early.
The latest development of a saga being watched keenly by SPFL and SFA hierarchy was ‘constructive discussions’ between UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and Mehdi Bayat, head of the Belgian FA.
The parties spoke after the European governing body reacted severely to Belgium’s intention to declare 15-point league leaders Club Brugge as champions.
UEFA warned that Belgium and any nations with a desire to follow suit in cancelling their remaining fixtures amid the coronavirus crisis were risking their clubs’ participation in European club tournaments next season.
Neighbouring Holland have been identified as next in line to make the call to cancel.
In Scotland, the SPFL are set for a critical round of boardroom and divisional conference calls in midweek, with many financially-troubled clubs desperate for a decision that would release prize-money funds.
But Ceferin has insisted that domestic leagues attempt to play to a finish, even with a late summer restart if possible.
Belgian clubs voted to pull
the plug on account of publichealth concerns and the financial wellbeing of several clubs.
An AGM is expected to ratify the decision on April 15 but the Pro League’s board of directors will present the proposal to UEFA’S executive committee in the meantime with, according to the Belgian FA statement, the purpose of preserving ‘the spots for Belgian teams in European competitions for the 2020-2021 season’.
The statement read: ‘On Thursday, the board of directors of the Pro League unanimously decided it was not desirable to continue the competition after
June 30. This was then formulated as a unanimous recommendation, addressed to its general assembly, to not resume the Jupiler Pro League for the 2019-2020 season. This has since resulted in many statements.
‘It is in this context that a discussion was held between UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and RBFA president Mehdi Bayat.
‘This discussion was constructive and the intention was expressed to come to a joint solution.
‘As part of this, the recommendation to stop the competition, as formulated by the board of directors of the Pro League, will be presented to the executive committee of UEFA.’