One Europe, several policies

European Leagues and their different endings

Bundesliga - Comes back on 15th May

Source: DW Kick Off

German football will probably be the first out of the top 4 to come back.
Despite criticism and positive cases being discovered in Koln for example, it’s set in stone and happens next week.

The philosophy - efficient but bears considerable risk - seems to treat players with the virus as regular injuries, with 2 weeks quarantine away from the rest.
The biggest risk is definitely dependent on the responsible reaction of german supporters. Fans gathering outside the stadium could lead to a second massive wave of positive cases in the general population.

If the Bundesliga’s restart seems to be viewed as a failure when it comes to public safety, others could change their minds as well.

British Premier League - Discussing

 Source: Mirror UK

Players and clubs don’t really like the idea of coming back but... if there’s a league who will face a lot of economic pressure to come back, it’s the PL. Clubs get 100M from TV rights only, and the league generates close to the insane amount of 1B profit.
Also, even in the most viewed league in the world clubs face the anxiety of a long term break, as Crystal Palace’s chairman said:
“It’s an important debate and I genuinely don’t feel that people are thinking clearly about the ramifications if we don’t play, we are essentially throwing ourselves at the mercy of our customers.”

However, it’s not settled how relegations will turn out. At first, the bottom 6 clubs asked for them to be removed, but broadcasters weren’t happy and argued that they would not pay due to a breach in contract:
- If there’s no relegations, then the whole product is different from the one that was agreed before;
- A good portion of the games would be pointless. To be continued...

La Liga - Returns on June 12 (at most)

 Source Diario AS

This Sunday we finally had the closest thing to an answer - LaLiga is going to return on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during June and will be ended before August.

Despite being one of the most plagued countries by the virus, the Spanish clubs were facing a difficult reality: most of them had to ask for the government’s financial help and don’t seem to be capable of handling the crisis, as Spain in general will be requiring a good amount of money to survive the post-Coronavirus crisis.

For now, clubs have already gone back to training, and it appears LaLiga will resume despite serious concern from several players and clubs.

The Spanish Cup Final between Atletico Bilbao and Real Sociedad, which was scheduled for next month, will be delayed and will only happen in 2021.
Both clubs have waived the right to qualify for Europa League this season if they win, choosing to delay the final for a year so they can play the final with their supporters.

Serie A - Discussing, probably not

 Source: Curva Ultra

North of Italy was where it all began, and the rest of the country had also suffered a major blow. No surprise they aren’t receptive to the idea.
Last week Ultras from Rome spread several banners around the city speaking out against the decision.

After all, on top of being the original point of coronavirus contamination in Europe, they also gave green light for Serie A games to resume behind closed doors at first and allowed Valencia - Atalanta Champions League fixture to be played, which only made everything much worse for both countries.

The only factor that could make Serie A return is the same as Spain, financial difficulties of clubs, has to face the scrutiny of public opinion in a country where almost everyone has lost a family member or a friend due to Covid-19.

Returning or ending too fast?

Source: statista.com

So far Portugal, Poland and Hungary have given set dates for restarting their national leagues, all towards the end of May.

The Eredivise was immediately cancelled. There couldn’t really happen as the Dutch government took a decision and by law there won’t be any football until Sept 1.

France did the same choice for Ligue 1 and it’s apparently not consensual after the decision being taken. What seems reasonable today is completely outdated tomorrow, but can you afford doing the reasonable thing?

Written by: António Rêgo

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