By Andrew Warshaw
April 29 – France has become the first of the so-called Big Five leagues in Europe to scrap the rest of their season because of Covid-19, joining the Netherlands and Belgium in ending all domestic competition and throwing UEFA’s hopes of a co-ordinated resumption of play into disarray.
April 28 – Amidst growing frustration over the confused state of affairs throughout its membership, UEFA has imposed a May 25 deadline for European leagues to say whether or not they intend to complete or cancel their domestic seasons.
April 29 – After prolongated negotiations, American investment group Pacific Media Group (PMG) has become the new owner of struggling KV Oostende.
April 29 – Players from the European Union will have to go through a points-based system similar to that which currently applies to non-EU footballers before being allowed to play in the English Premier League under new proposals caused by Brexit.
By David Owen
April 28 – Robert Herbin, who was a key player in one great Saint-Etienne team and coach of another, has died at the age of 81. Born in Paris, the tactically-astute defensive midfielder played 23 times for France, but it was his exploits with the team in green that came to epitomise French football in the 1960s and 1970s for which he will be remembered.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 27 – Any chance of Dutch football finishing the season is over after the 2019-20 campaign was officially wound up due to the coronavirus pandemic with those in favour and against expressing strong views over the decision.
By Samindra Kunti
April 27 – Belgium’s Pro League has again postponed the decision to rubber-stamp Club Brugge’s coronation as champions because of the evolving lockdown measures in the country. A return to action, however, remains improbable and contradicts a previous recommendation to cancel the season.
April 27 – Canal+ and beIN SPORTS and have reached an agreement outside their existing broadcast rights contract that will see them accelerate much needed payments to France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and its clubs regarding the rights to matches already aired.
April 24 – Germany’s Bundesliga has secured agreements with its major broadcast partners that will enable the league to release money to all Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs.
April 24 – Next year’s European Championship will continue to be called Euro 2020 despite being postponed to 2021.
April 24 – The mayor of Liverpool City Region has called for an investigation into the Champions League clash between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid as debate over a possible link between positive Covid-19 cases in the city and last month’s fixture intensifies.
April 24 – Scotland looks set to become one of the first leagues to benefit from UEFA’s agreement to allow for special cases in ending domestic seasons prematurely.
April 24 – UEFA may be concentrating on how it grapples with the effects of Covid-19 but away from the pandemic, today marks the fifth anniversary of the organisation’s Foundation for Children, using football as a tool to aid vulnerable kids particularly in less-privileged parts of the world.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 23 – UEFA has officially acknowledged that domestic leagues may not be able to finish this season if governments prevent them, but if that’s the case has urged leagues to ensure their qualifying clubs for its two competitions next season are selected on proper sporting merit.
By Samindra Kunti
April 23- With governments across Europe implementing or considering a phased easing of strict lockdown measures, domestic leagues are cautiously coming up with different scenarios for season restarts, but those plans remain subject to the approval of health authorities.