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Champions League final must be played by August 3 or be lost as Uefa set deadline

REUTERS
REUTERS

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin says the Champions League and Europa League must be completed by August 3.

Both competitions are currently suspended midway through their last-16 stages because of the coronavirus outbreak, with professional football in almost all European countries in shutdown.

Uefa have already postponed this summer’s European Championships until 2021 to give club football the best chance of completing its remaining fixtures, but Ceferin is aware that it may not be enough.

“By the 3rd of August both tournaments must have been completed,” Ceferin told German TV channel ZDF.

“We're in a situation which is unprecedented and we have to be flexible; we could play on the same days as the local leagues - even at the same time.

“We have several different plans for restarting the Champions League and the Europa League in May, June, July and there is even the possibility that the remaining matches won't be played at all.

“It all depends on the respective governments in every country and whether they will allow the tournaments to be completed - if they say no football matches can be played, there is nothing we can do. By September or October it will be too late.”