UEFA plan for Scottish leagues to finish by June 30

Scottish football has been urged to return before July after UEFA proposed that domestic European leagues make "maximum effort" to finish by June 30 this year.

The Continent's governing body hope seasons will be completed by that date – provided the Coronavirus allows it.

Their idea could see league games played midweek and European ties at weekends if necessary, with discussions on the way forward due to continue with national associations.

The plans are ambitious but the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Professional Football League are expected to follow guidelines from UEFA on the matter.

Both organisations suspended football in Scotland on Friday following the worldwide pandemic.

UEFA made a host of recommendations during conference calls with national associations on Tuesday, and confirmed that Euro 2020 is postponed until summer 2021.

Additionally, they plan to stage the Champions League and Europa League finals in June, plus European Championship play-offs including Scotland v Israel.

Domestic football across Europe is in shutdown, with clubs fearing their fate will be decided on current league positions. However, assuming UEFA’s plan is feasible, teams may yet get to play all outstanding league and cup fixtures.

One problem for Scottish clubs might be player contracts. Most of those end on May 31 and there would be no guarantee of agreeing extensions for the month of June.

The situation remains fluid as talks continue with football associations across the Continent based on the Coronavirus spread.

A UEFA statement read: “UEFA today announced the postponement of its flagship national team competition, UEFA EURO 2020, due to be played in June and July this year.

“The health of all those involved in the game is the priority, as well as to avoid placing any unnecessary pressure on national public services involved in staging matches. The move will help all domestic competitions, currently on hold due to the COVID-19 emergency, to be completed.

“All UEFA competitions and matches (including friendlies) for clubs and national teams for both men and women have been put on hold until further notice. The UEFA EURO 2020 Play-off matches and international friendlies, scheduled for the end of March, will now be played in the international window at the start of June, subject to a review of the situation.

“A working group has been set up with the participation of leagues and club representatives to examine calendar solutions that would allow for the completion of the current season and any other consequence of the decisions made today.

“The decisions, taken by UEFA’s Executive Committee, followed videoconference meetings held today with the Presidents and General Secretaries of the 55 national associations, as well as representatives of the European Club Association, European Leagues and FIFPro Europe, convened by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, to find a coherent plan to break the logjam of fixtures building up due to the spread of the virus across the continent.

“Announcing the decisions, Aleksander Čeferin [UEFA chief executive] said: ‘We are at the helm of a sport that vast numbers of people live and breathe that has been laid low by this invisible and fast-moving opponent. It is at times like these, that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism.

‘The health of fans, staff and players has to be our number one priority and in that spirit, UEFA tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely and I am proud of the response of my colleagues across European football. There was a real spirit of co-operation, with everyone recognising that they had to sacrifice something in order to achieve the best result.

‘It was important that, as the governing body of European football, UEFA led the process and made the biggest sacrifice. Moving EURO 2020 comes at a huge cost for UEFA but we will do our best to ensure that the vital funding for grassroots, women’s football and the development of the game in our 55 countries is not affected. Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole.

‘Football is an uplifting and powerful force in society. The thought of celebrating a pan-European festival of football in empty stadia, with deserted fan zones while the continent sits at home in isolation, is a joyless one and one we could not accept to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the competition.

‘I would like to thank the European Club Association, the European Leagues and FIFPro Europe for their great work today and for their cooperation. I would also like to thank from the bottom of my heart the 55 national associations, their Presidents and General Secretaries, and my colleagues from the Executive Committee for their support and wise decisions. The fine detail will be worked out in the coming weeks but the basic principles have been agreed and that is a major step forward. We have all shown that we are responsible leaders. We have demonstrated solidarity and unity. Purpose over profit. We’ve achieved this today.

‘I would also like to thank Alejandro Dominguez and CONMEBOL, who have agreed to move CONMEBOL’s 2020 Copa America in order to follow the recommendations issued by the international public health organisations to enact extreme measures and as a result of EURO 2020 being postponed. This means that clubs and leagues in Europe will have as little disruption as possible in the availability of their players. These joint efforts and especially this coordinated and responsible decision, are deeply appreciated by the whole European football community.

‘I would like to thank FIFA and its President, Gianni Infantino, who has indicated it will do whatever is required to make this new calendar work. In the face of this crisis, football has shown its best side with openness, solidarity and tolerance.’”