All the major football leagues in the world have been suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It doesn’t seem clear when it will be the right time to restart the football leagues.
The leagues are racing against time to complete the season in time. Both the Euro 2020 and Copa America 2020 have been postponed to 2021 to give the football leagues enough time to finish the 2019-20 season.
Public events (which includes professional sport) have been banned until September in the Netherlands. This measure has been taken to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic in the country which have taken more than 4,000 lives till now.
So it will be impossible to restart the 2019-20 season after September and then finish it off quickly to start the 2020-21 season. Dutch football’s governing body, KNVB said: “It has become impossible to play out the 2019-20 season”. The Eredivisie 2019-20 season has now been officially cancelled.
So there you go: The 19/20 Eredivisie season is done.
— Dutch Football (@FootballOranje_) April 24, 2020
No Champion
No Relegation
Champions League: Ajax, AZ
Europa League: Feyenoord, PSV, Willem II
Top scorer: Berghuis/Dessers
Most assists: Tadic
Ajax and AZ were level on points with 9 games left but Ajax had better goal difference. But KNVB has decided there will be no champions and no relegations and promotions.
Cambuur – who topped the second tier and held an 11-point gap over the play-off positions – will not be promoted to the Eredivisie. Cambuur head coach Henk de John told broadcaster NOS that the decision felt “like the biggest disgrace in the history of Dutch sport”.
KNVB said in a statement: “The KNVB is aware that whatever decision had to be made, every option would hurt somewhere. It will be crystal clear to everyone involved, from supporters and players to directors and referees, that public health always comes first.”
“Nevertheless, the professional football board is aware that today’s decisions will cause great disappointment in football for some. Because many rounds still have to be played in the competitions, we believe that we cannot apply promotion/relegation and that is decided.”
This is the first time that there will be no champions at the end of a season since the Eredivisie was started in 1956.
Ajax and AZ Alkmaar will go into the Champions League qualifying stages and third-place Feyenoord will qualify for the Europa League group stages, with fourth-placed PSV and fifth-placed Willem II entering the qualifying stages of the Europa League. This decision by the KNVB is now pending ratification by Uefa.
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