March 20 – Just days after the head of Switzerland’s FA stood up at the UEFA Congress and warned of the dire consequences of Covid-19 on football in his country, Swiss top-flight outfit FC Sion have reportedly terminated the contracts of nine players, including captain Xavier Kouassi, former Swiss international Johan Djourou and ex-Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Alex Song.
March 19 – With the Premier League having announced that all matches are currently suspended until April 30, Manchester United have announced they will pay wages to their casual workforce whether games are played or not.
March 19 – English football, already wiped off the map until April 3 because of the continued spread of coronavirus, will now be suspended until April 30 following a crisis video conference of the sport’s various authorities today.
March 19 – Despite Covid-19 decimating football across Europe, there is light at the end of the tunnel with La Liga President Javier Tebas saying major leagues are preparing to resume in mid-May and finish by the end of June as long as the climate is right.
March 19 – UEFA has confirmed that provide full refunds will be paid to fans who bought tickets for Euro 2020 if they are unable to reschedule for next year, saying sticking with the original dates would have been far too dangerous because of Covid-19.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 18 – The toll on players once football is allowed to resume will be greater than ever while many risk losing their jobs altogether during the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 17 – UEFA has postponed Euro 2020 for a year until June 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic following an emergency video conference involving their 55 member nations plus the bodies representing Europe’s clubs and leagues.
March 17 – The umbrella body for Europe’s leagues says not a single one of its members are playing competitive football normally as a result of the coronavirus.
March 17 – The National League, which comprises the fifth and sixth tiers of the English football pyramid immediately below the four professional leagues, has finally seen sense and joined the rest of the country – and beyond – in suspending games because of the spread of Covid-19.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 16 – On the eve of UEFA’s all-important video conference call with member federations and other key stakeholders to determine the fate of Euro 2020, signs are growing that the tournament will be postponed for either six months or a year.
March 16 – The presidents of the Serb and Swiss federations have tested positive for the coronavirus – another headache for UEFA since both attended the recent 55-nation UEFA Congress in Amsterdam.
March 16 – The official report into the plane crash that tragically killed Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala has found the pilot was “not licensed” to fly the aircraft at the time of the accident.
March 16 – Tottenham Hotspur’s Belgian international defender Jan Vertonghen’s family was held at knifepoint as four armed men burgled his home while he was abroad on Champions League duty last week.
March 16 – First-team players, technical staff and employees Italy’s Inter Milan have launched a global crowdfunding campaign with the finds to be donated to the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at the Luigi Sacco Hospital of Milan, a leading centre for infectious diseases and epidemiological emergencies and on the front line of the fight against the killer virus in Italy.
March 16 – Former England captain Wayne Rooney says the government and football authorities have treated his profession as “guinea pigs” during the coronavirus outbreak by not acting as responsibly as other sports.