In April, the new Crown pneumonia epidemic still spread around the world. Serie A, Premier League and other leagues extended the suspension period one after another. Fans should continue to endure “days without football company”.
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 4 (Reporter Wei Hua) in April, the new Crown pneumonia epidemic is still spreading around the world. Serie A, Premier League and other leagues have extended the suspension period one after another, fans should continue to endure “days without football company”.
As the first league to stop in the five major league matches, Serie A would have been suspended until April 3 according to the requirements of the original decree. During the suspension period, all aspects of Serie A also discussed the resumption date of the league for many times. At the video conference held by the Serie A league and representatives of 20 clubs on the 3rd, all parties reached a consensus that the Serie A league will resume only when public health conditions permit, which means that the league will be suspended indefinitely.
The Premier League also announced a similar decision. The Premier League announced to suspend the game until early April on March 13, and then extended the suspension period to April 30 soon afterwards. Now, the Premier League said after the shareholders’ meeting that the league could not resume in early May, and this season can only resume the game at the right time on the premise of ensuring safety.
At the same time, FIFA issued a statement on the 3rd, proposing a response plan for a number of events during the epidemic. FIFA mentioned in the statement that it suggested to postpone all international competitions originally scheduled for June this year and the U20 and U17 Women’s football World Cup.
Affected by the new coronavirus epidemic, the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 was postponed to 2021. However, since the qualified team is composed of U23 age-appropriate players this year, if the rules are not adjusted, the 23-year-old players who could have participated in this year will not be eligible to stand in the Olympic arena next year.
In the statement, FIFA confirmed that the qualification of men’s football competition in Tokyo Olympic Games will remain unchanged, and the upper age limit of participating players will be adjusted from the original 23 to 24 years old, that is to say, athletes born on or after January 1, 1997 are allowed to participate in the competition, and a maximum of 3 over-age players are allowed for each team. This policy adjustment is undoubtedly a great advantage for many South Korean players who hope to achieve good results in the Olympic Games to exempt themselves from military service.
Under the uncertain situation of the epidemic, most football associations still regard the extension of the game as the first choice, but Belgian First Division a previously proposed to end the league, this practice also attracted the dissatisfaction of UEFA president Che Feilin. He said on the 3rd that Uefa is still committed to completing the league in a normal way, even if the end time will be very late and will be played in an empty way; If the league ends too early, there may be a risk of losing the qualification for the European war.
Because there was no competition for a long time, many clubs suffered huge losses. According to a report on the website of German sports media Kicker magazine on the 3rd, 13 of the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga and Germany B professional league have faced “bankruptcy crisis” this season, including 4 Bundesliga clubs.
The German Football League held a video conference attended by 36 clubs before. Kicker draws such a conclusion from the information released and the data disclosed in this meeting. One German club is in critical condition at present. They can only hold up until May, and three other clubs may appoint bankruptcy trustees in June.
The situation of the De B league is even more embarrassing. If the competition cannot be restarted before the end of May and the cooperative media cannot pay the copyright fee (installment), seven clubs will apply for bankruptcy in May; if the broadcaster cannot pay the copyright fee (installment), two other clubs will apply for bankruptcy in June.
Although professional football clubs generally face difficulties, this does not prevent them from undertaking their social responsibilities. German giants Dortmund announced that the home court of the club would be transformed into a local temporary detection center for new coronavirus pneumonia, which will be received and tested from the 5th.
The club said: “Our stadium is a city landmark, and people in Dortmund and the surrounding cities all know it. It is an ideal place to meet more detection requirements in terms of technology, infrastructure and space. We are willing to do everything within our capabilities to help people who need testing. This is our responsibility.” (Participating reporters: Zhang Wei, Niu mengtong, Liu Wei, Tan Chang)