UEFA decide Champions League qualification ‘will be decided on sporting merit’ if Premier League season can’t be finished… meaning Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal could all miss out on points-per-game tally
- UEFA held a crunch meeting on Thursday morning to decide fate of the season
- It was reportedly decided that if leagues do not finish, qualification for the Champions League and Europa League should be decided on ‘sporting merit’
- Decision means current top four would qualify for 2020-21 Champions League
- Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester and Chelsea would take four English spots
- Tottenham (8th) and Arsenal (9th) would miss out on a European place entirely
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UEFA have decided that if top European leagues are unable to finish their current campaigns due to the coronavirus crisis, then next season’s European places will be chosen on ‘sporting merit’, it has been reported.
This would mean a decision made on points-per-game tally, according to The Times, which would secure a Champions League spot next season for the Premier League’s current top four of Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester and Chelsea.
UEFA’s decision would see Manchester United and Wolves take the Europa League places, while Arsenal and Tottenham would miss out on European football entirely if the current Premier League season is unable to be completed.
Thursday’s big videoconference meeting was led by UEFA’s president Aleksander Ceferin
If season can’t be finished, United, Arsenal and Spurs will miss out on the Champions League
Ole Gunnar Solskjar’s Manchester United would miss out on next season’s Champions League
Liverpool, Man City, Leicester and Chelsea would get into next season’s Champions League if UEFA’s plan comes to fruition
As it stands, the two north London sides sit eighth and ninth respectively in the top-flight table, with neither position good enough for a place in next season’s European competition.
Of course, they could still make it into next season’s Europa League or Champions League if the Premier League are able to finish the campaign following the coronavirus shutdown.
The news would also come as a blow to seventh-placed Sheffield United, who are in the midst of an incredible first season back in the top flight and are just below Wolves by way of their inferior goal difference.
If the season’s final matches are not played and UEFA’s plan comes into place, the Blades will have missed out on European football next season by just a two-goal deficit to Wolves.
UEFA have decided that next season’s European places will be decided on ‘sporting merit’
One decision high on the agenda was how to deal with this season’s Champions League
Thursday’s meeting of UEFA’s executive committee was led by president Alexander Ceferin and held via a videoconference from 9am.
Plenty of big decisions had previously been made by the committee, such as the postponement of Euro 2020, so it was always expected that more tough calls would be made this week.
The first strand of business was already decided during a preliminary meeting on Tuesday, which included the general secretaries of UEFA’s 55 member states.
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