Дискусионен форум

As numerous events are now being affected, I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to have a dedicated thread for admins to inform of changes and other players to let us know of any changes that they become aware of that we have not actioned.

Starting it off after Klaus' table tennis news, the next 3 rounds of the J1 League in Japan have been postponed and the league won't restart until the middle of March at the earliest.

Five fans who had attended the Atalanta-Valencia game in Milano (1 Croatian and 4 Spanish) were diagnosed with COVID-19.

This fact is likely to (psychologically) influence decisions on upcoming football games in many locations I'm afraid.

The Ireland v Italy Six Nations game on 7th March has been postponed.

All Swiss Super League matches postponed this weekend. Believe all gatherings over 1,000 people banned until at least 15 March so I imagine the following weekends matches will be postponed in due course.

Yes, even the Geneva Motor Show has been cancelled.

Five Serie A games due to be played behind closed doors this weekend, have been moved to 13 May. It avoids Juventus v Inter clashing with El Classico tomorrow night.

Seria A several games pstpnd.

'This weekend's Serie A matches that had been scheduled to be played behind closed doors have been postponed and rescheduled to May 13 due to fears over the worsening Coronavirus outbreak.

The clashes between Juventus and Inter, Udinese and Fiorentina, Parma and SPAL, AC Milan and Genoa and Sassuolo vs Brescia have all been affected.'

Very worrying and concerning situation in Italy.

Wonder if they will manage to get games played at all for a while..

In the UK we have had our first death sadly and plans have been put in place in case the situation get worse.

Here we probably have more fans travelling to sporting events than elsewhere...

ya, and unfortunately the extent of the infection will increase in many more places.
The world is globalized and people are very dynamic.

There has been speculation these days that even the FA may suspend the UK championships in a few months, which will cause huge cases.
(but i'm sure you know it better)

Euro 2020 is under greater threat.
This contagion occurs exactly when the format is hosted by so many host countries. These circumstances can at least change the formula - 1 host country and no spectators. It would be better than nothing.

Not sure if Paris-Nice is still on or not but I believe a number of teams already confirmed their withdrawal.

By the way, Just noticed that GC prediction for Paris-Nice is currently unavailable.

Seems like a number of teams and riders have pulled out.

This weekends Serie A games have been postponed. The outstanding games from last weekend are being played this weekend. No new dates yet for this weekends postponed fixtures.

Paris - Nice 2020: A few hours ago two more teams withdrew, currently only 17 teams left.

https://www.paris-nice.fr/en/news/2020/19-teams-are-expected-on-the-start-line/17240

I'm sure there will be more changes in the near future.

Indian Wells tennis tournament cancelled.

I'll put the Indian Wells Masters 2020 in the state of 'forthcoming'. Maybe I have to change the 2020 to 2021 in the near future.

France v Ireland a goner too..

For now.

Serie A off for a month.

Be interesting to see how they handle - void matches or the entire season.

The champions and Europa league might get messed up if Italian teams can't play at home anymore.

The champions and Europa league might get messed up if Italian teams can't play at home anymore.

Man City v Arsenal off.

https://www.arsenal.com/news/manchester-city-match-postponed

Guess Arsenal's game at the weekend might be off too?

All the best Kirky , haste ye back.

Take care, David!
c.

Possibly not as the two weeks since they were exposed is Thursday.

NBA season halted.

There will be nothing to predict soon. On a more serious note, I hope that everyone on the site and their family and friends stay safe and well.

Btw, Do we have any rule on what happens if a league or tournament is cancelled midway? Declare the current status as final or grant no trophies for the comp at all? Id personally support a solution that the latest status becomes the final ranking but only if a specified percentage threshold is met (eg 50% of games completed).

We should try and follow how the leagues themselves do it. If any declare the current standings the final placings I think we should follow that. Or if they have play off's like Italy proposed.
If voided then an over 50% rule is fair to use.

A very good remark! We should look at how the leagues handle their final tables indeed. If they declare the latest table as final then we should follow the approach. If they void the whole season, we should use the 50%+ rule?

What if they cancel just a part of the season (e.g. playoffs) and declare the regular season standings as final? This is what has just happened with the Polish ice hockey league. Do we delete predictions for the canceled part or still take them into account? I think the latter would be more fair?

Yeah. Unlike sport themselves we on here don't have the issue of some might have played harder teams while others in the league have the harder games to come. We all at the same point.

One question mark about our rules. What about the season prediction? I think it would make most sense to nullify it in any case a season is shortened (whether the latest table made final or season results voided)? Not sure if it's technically feasible though.

Cycling:Colombia's elite sprinter Fernando Gaviria diagnosed.

Three Leicester City players in self-isolation showing symptoms, acc to Guardian.

Ekstraklasa continues to play behind closed doors but the league already decided that in case it's unable to continue, the title will be granted to the team leading the table after the last 100% completed gameweek.

euroleague basketball & NBA games suspended

Australian GP cancelled this weekend and tomorrow they discuss what to do with the Euros

Man City v Real Madrid off.

NCAAB also postponed

Klaus, As Igor has said, the College Basketball season has come to an end. Could you please close the game. Thanks.

Bundesliga considering no trophy and a 22 team season.

Not sure how tgat work in the UK with how far Liverpool are ahead and no relegation's will mean a 23 team season.

Just came to my mind what would happen to Liverpool's long-awaited dream should the season be voided and no title awarded in the end?... That would be cruel.

I presume they might make an exception for Liverpool as they are so far ahead ?

Not happening here. Nowhere near as bad as some parts of Europe and we aren't expected to reach the peak for a few weeks. Cheltenham Festival happening this week with over 60,000 per day. Premier League darts tonight with 5000 packed in an arena

Womens world curling championship is off permanently I think from what I have seen.

Ligue 1, Ligue 2 off
I think Belgium will follow as they are closing down schools, restaurants and bars

Arteta tested positive now but still football in the UK carries on - it appears to be madness but what do I know.

Mikel Arteta has tested positive for coronavirus
Guess that is Brighton v Arsenal off probably also West Ham v Wolves if not the entire league.

I think if the season is shortened points should be given for getting the winner right but only for all placings if they used for Europe places and relegation's/promotions.

Czech League off for two weeks.
Same for Eredivisie

Primeira Liga off for 2 weeks

MLS off until 12/4

Still on as of now:

England I, England II, England III, Scotland
Germany I, Germany II (1 match postponed), Belgium
France, Poland, Russia,
Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey,
Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Australia

NHL off until further notice.

How bad is this in places like Poland ,Russia and Ukraine?

I did read somewhere they didn't expect a peak of this virus till next winter!

The UK Government themselves have talked about the summer being a peak period.

I don't know about Russia and Ukraine. Poland's case is more comparable to Czech Rep, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary I think.

Currently only 51 cases diagnosed and 1 victim but it grew from 0 to 50 within a few days. Could be 10-20x more within the next couple of weeks, acc to Min of Health. We may be a bit behind with tests, hence relatively low number of cases identified comparing to other countries in the region and their populations.

We're quite disciplined for the moment, trying to learn from the Italian lesson and make precautions upfront, closing down schools universities, theaters, cinemas, museums, calling off mass events, encouraging people to stay at home and their employers to allow homeworking.

No, no there were no discussions about a possible peak the next winter, we were just waiting patiently for the virus to start taking its toll already now.

I think the breaking point was 100 000 Poles returning from the winter ski vacations in N.Italy over the entire February...

Inter withdraws from serie a Europa league and Copa italia. Whole team subjected to quarantine. This decision follows juve's Rugani diagnosed case of coronavirus. Inter played juve a few Days ago and Rugani was on juve bench.

Basket Euroleague off
Uefa CL & Eu League off

Europa League continuing tonight - no word on next week.

LaLiga suspended for at least 2 weeks.

EL continuing but with Roma and Inter games postponed (or for Inter in fact called off as I think they withdrew for good from the comp)

3 games off in the Netherlands (at RKC, Willem and PSV)

Danish Superliga off for 2 weeks.

Austria off, too.
J-League doesnt resume.

Tennis ATP - off next 6 weeks. it should be back for Madrid Masters ? (fingers crossed)
WTA off till 6th April.

Brighton v Arsenal officially off - expectation is the rest of the league will be suspended tommrow.

Tennis ATP - off next 6 weeks. it should be back for Madrid Masters ? (fingers crossed)
WTA off till 6th April.

according to president of FFF - All football in France is off.

Villa-Chelsea postponed, too.
Belgium off.

In case you were planning for some weekend outdoor activities to get some fresh air and feel better... The route to Mt.Everest officially closed. ;)

Gornik's players refused to leave for the match vs LKS scheduled for this evening. So there's a good chance that the initial plan of having the gameweek played behind closed doors will soon turn into 'off' status.

Bundesliga about to be put on hold very soon according to a few German football portals. Some sources are saying the season could be over with no title awarded; no relegation, 22 teams next season as a possibility.

if there is a 'next season'

Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 officially stopped until further notice.

Same with Bundesliga, starting next tuesday. This weekend's games are maintained but with no spectators.

https://www.eurosport.fr/football/ligue-1/2019-2020/la-lfp-suspend-la-ligue-1-et-la-ligue-2-en-raison-du-coronavirus_sto7702794/story.shtml

https://www.eurosport.fr/football/bundesliga/2019-2020/coronavirus-et-maintenant-cest-au-tour-de-la-bundesliga-detre-suspendue_sto7702806/story.shtml

Everton in self-isolation.

Next week's Champions League and Europa League games are postponed.

Catalans Dragons v Leeds Rhinos in Super League on Saturday called off now as Leeds are not travelling due to one of their players showing symptoms.

Wouldn't surprise me if it was Stevie Ward.....

I have no idea yet how to handle the break-offs.

Close all suspended comps as they stand now and declare winners/award medals or nullify using the 50%games+ rule? It's just a game, we can use a cut-off date of 16 March. Not much fun predicting this chaos these days anyway. For all open League/Cup contests - cancel.

Let's be realistic, it wont get any better within the next 3 months. Only worse. It's pure statistics.

I'd agree if the leagues concerned are cancelled, which is not yet the case. There's no rush in stopping them here.

Consider them cancelled, believe me...

If there's no hurry doing anything, then we can keep them all open of course.

I'm not saying you're wrong Michal. But I just don't see the rush of closing the comps now.

As long as there's a possibility for the leagues to finish, I'd say, let them open. There's nothing to lose really. As you say, it's just a game.

The Euros are likely to be postponed, thus the leagues will have more time.

That's why I asked Klaus to clarify his point. Perhaps there's some important admin aspect, which we don't take into account.

Ekstraklasa suspended until end of March.

Women's Curling World Championships officially off.

https://www.rts.ch/sport/curling/11161111-curling-le-mondial-dames-passe-egalement-a-la-trappe.html

European volleyball and handball off.

Paderborn's coach under radar. Could that still change the league's most recent decision to play one more gameweek over the weekend?

Paderborn playing tonight.

Bremen-Leverkusen called off

Bundesliga off now too

Thank goodness for rugby league

Which leaves Europe with just 3 leagues still scheduled to play:
Russia, Ukraine, Turkey.

I have to program the option to erase a season prediction from a prediction game. This might be necessary for several prediction games.
It is also not possible to delete a Drop Out contest right now.

Maybe start a poll and see what people think?

Klaus, Could you please remove the Womens World Curling Championship as it has been cancelled. Additionally, I have no access to new Argentinian Cup game and some start times need to be changed. Thanks

Sorry Mark but I don't think we need a poll. Whatever Klaus decides to do should be fine for us all, its his train set and he does a hell of a lot of work on it.

I for one think you should just do what you think is best Klaus.

Good point!

Sure everyone will respect the decision.

Klaus,
Whatever is easier for you, if season prediction is difficult to remove, let's add its current scores to the final results, no problem. I'm sure nobody will object. No point wasting time for extra programming.

Paris-Nice is to conclude tomorrow with mountain Stage 7 after Stage 8 was officially cancelled.

Giro 2020 will not take place in May.

River Plate said to be refusing to play in the cup tommrow in Argentina.

Klaus, could you please close the college basketball game. The rest of the season has been cancelled. Thanks.

Leslie, I have closed the college basketball

The classic, league and drop out were sorted but in the cup it was down to the last 4. I picked the winner based on highest score in the quarter finals. It was a familiar name :)

agreed.
Better to stay as it is and less troubles for Klaus.

However, most of the affected championships have played more than 2/3 of the seasons and significant changes are less likely and would not be unfair to include these points.
Some of us do not particularly like this part of the predictions ;)) , and I would not want the time spent for the season predictions to be a waste if they are deleted.

Schachmann wins Paris-Nice. Tomorrows final stage cancelled.

Are we closing or keeping open prediction games ? Not bothered either way though looks like many tournaments won't be finished anytime soon if ever. Does anybody on here personally know anyone with the virus ? Many countries going into lockdown but British PM Johnson seems to have strange idea that be better for everyone to get it and develop some kind of immunity , it was the sports governing bodies not the government that closed down competitions in fact as I speak am watching Halifax v Ebbsfleet in National League with supporters in attendance...strange sight these days. Meanwhile in America Trump has just watched a special edition of Sesame Street and now understands the virus. Keep well friends , stay healthy.

I'd like to wait a few weeks before closing prediction games and/or deleting contests.

Re league / comp closures :^) I think waiting a few weeks is a very good idea Klaus ~ my 2 cents re football contests.

I doubt leagues will be back playing for sometime.

The debate/discussion is will they be finished/completed or scrapped.

The Australian Government have put a lockdown on the country.

Probably means their various sporting events will be off.

:^O Breaking news...
Deeko! ~ Big Bird is in self-isolation... I'm concerned ~ I think he's a fair age!

Pat McGroin he's been in isolation for some time bud , he died last December

Eeekkk!!! I did not know that ~ I feel terrible as my comment is very disrespectful ~ now knowing ~ my apologies!!!

Serie A hoping to be back up and running on May 2nd.

Who knows.

Any news with the AFL which is scheduled to start later this week?

AFL will be reduced to 17 match season. Decision on whether to start this week so be taken tomorrow. Currently awaiting test results on Collingwood captain.

La Liga are talking about scrapping the season altogether.

As for the Champions league..

A mini tournament to decide this year's competition if it does get re-started?


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51906630

Still waiting to hear about what's happening with Super League. Should have a decision this afternoon. Don't think I could cope without any Rugby League, but fully understandable should they decide to postpone.

Both rugby codes affected now

Super League until 3rd April
Premiership Rugby Union the 14th April

Amended fixtures accordingly

The Premier League Darts has been postponed this week, will be played on 1st Oct now but more information about how that affects the rest coming out this week. For that reason I haven't amended the times and dates yet

Pakistan Super League semi finals due today are off. No rescheduled date yet, I have just pushed them back a couple of weeks for now.

Tour Championship pushed back till July.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Livesnooker/status/1239863518867972096

Russian league suspended until 10Apr

Liga MX off

[erased after expiration date]

EURO2020 is now EURO2021

Roland Garros moved to Sep/Oct 2020.

There are reports saying that Copa America is to be moved to 2021 as well.

Just reading that in case the PL season is not continued, the Championship playoff contenders are ready to go to civil war against the Premier League if the final call is anything different than top-6 being allowed to fight for promotion. In fact, it would go even further as any team with real chances to make it to the playoffs at the end of the season would have their claims.

So even if the PL was extended to 22 teams with top-2 Championship teams going up, there would still be a massive disagreement over the final (playoff) berth which is believed to be worth 200M.

Unless the league is extended to 23 or 24, which still might not solve the issue for all interested clubs...?

yes, RG 20 Sep - 4 Okt
It's gonna be right after USOpen. Fast adaptation will be a challenge.
Interesting times ahead.

LaLiga will play it online with FIFA20!!! Playoff format, top-12 automatically qualify to Best-16, teams 13-20 in the current LaLiga table will play off for the remaining 4 spots.
2 legs format, games broadcast online with professional commentators.

As a test phase, Real Madrid's qualifications between M.Asensio, Th.Courtois and D.Carvajal were played and broadcast live last night.

The following players will represent their teams

Real Madrid - Marco Asensio
Barcelona - Sergi Roberto
Sevilla - Sergio Reguilon
Real Sociedad - Adnan Januzaj
Getafe - Jason Remeseiro
Atletico - Alvaro Morata/Joao Felix
Valencia - Carlos Soler
Villareal - Alberto Moreno
Granada - TBD via qualifications
Athletic Bilbao - Gorka Guruzeta
Osasuna - Ruben Garcia
Real Betis - Borja Iglesias
Levante - Carlos Clerc
Alavés - Lucas Perez
Valladolid - TBD via qualifications
Eibar - Edu Exposito
Celta de Vigo - Kevin Vazquez
Mallorca - Alejandro Pozo
Leganes - Aitor Ruibal
Espanyol - Adri Embarba

ARG Copa de la Superliga postponed.
Which leaves us with Turkey and 3 matches in A-League. At least for now.

Ukraine and Copa de la Superliga 2020 postponed.

Turkey postponed

Argetina is also postponed

A quick update on the LaLiga online FIFA20 tournament I mentioned a few days ago.

It has been won by Real Madrid/Marco Asensio who beat Leganes/Aitor Ruibal in the final.

According to a few German experts, the sport events as we know them will not return before 2021 in a best case scenario. It is more likely than not that when the sport resumes matches will, for quite a while, be played behind closed doors or with a very limited number of spectators.

A few months at least necessary to extinguish the epidemic and then people will get very cautious for a few more months.

If so, let's get used to the idea of May, June, July etc. Specials.

Uefa would have been better playing Euros in December and all leagues adopting March - October/November for next two seasons leading up to Qatar World Cup

With the A League now postponed all comps are now off.

The Lord Kelvin would call it an 'absolute zero'... This brutally proves, despite many opposite views (incl. my own), that sport is not the most important thing on earth...

Wait, Belarus is still playing!

Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga postponed until the end of April.

Tokyo 2020 officially moved to 2021.

WHO officially confirmed that the CL game between Atalanta Bergamo and Valencia at San Siro was a biological bomb, an important trigger for the corona virus spread in the region with 40k people travelling from Bergamo to Milano and back when the epidemic was already well under way (although not that visible yet). At the same time, the Valencia fans travelling for the game was probably one of the main factors for Spain.

The more I think about the nearest future of football I am starting to realize that there will be no return to organizing matches as we knew them. Even if the epidemic cools down in the summer, nobody will take a risk of gathering thousands of people in one place, at least not before next 'flu season' (autumn/winter) is over to see if corona virus comes back. So empty house matches or matches with very limited no. of fans are probably the max. we could expect by end of next season. I may be wrong of course, but I may be wrong both ways...

Everything would change immediately if a cure was found but this can realistically take a year (with all required clinical trials, registration procedures etc.) .

Yip think football will return with no fans , then only home fans. The days of supporters travelling in large numbers across the continent may be over.

In which case we might see more wider changes as the economy of Europe struggles to move on from tourism.

China in particular might well decide to fill their league with foreigners to build worldwide attention in their league.

Euro 2021 might have big problems even going ahead. What are the chances it never happens.

MSK Zilina, 7-times Slovakia champion in the last 20 year, currently 2nd in the league table, put into liquidation as of 1 April. Contracts with most players terminated. Believed to fall victim of the Covid-19 financial crisis.

There'll be more to come...

Meanwhile in Norway, most of the top league teams temporarily lay off their players who now have to register with unemployment office.

An interesting story behind this... An owner of a strawberry plantation and a big fan of one of the teams offered a job to all players from his favourite team. The job is...strawberry picking as the strawberry picking season in Norway is approaching.

His Football Manager dreams are coming true in a very bizarre way...

Seems the Belgium league has been voided - Genk named champions.

Did read a while back they had just agreed a new TV deal for next season so wonder if they were under pressure to come up with a resolution for this season?

Brugge not Genk.

Sorry - Club Brugge named champions.

I think it hasn't yet. It is set to be abandoned but the final decision will be taken on 15 April from what I am reading now.

That also be how promotion and relegation is decided.

In the UK I can see the government punishing the premier league which might have a massive impact on the next few seasons.

As regards Belgium, league management already made a decision but now the general assembly needs to approve mid-April.

But now UEFA might ban Belgian teams from the two competitions next season unless they finish the league.

Through the play off system there means it is easier to use the current placings without UEFA opposing.

Just reading that Bundesliga might return as early as in May, playing behind closed doors, of course, and players being tested for the virus on an ongoing basis. If the break goes beyond May, one-third of 1. and 2.Bundesliga teams might face bankrupcy.

How realistic this scenario is, I have no idea...

Well Germany has the biggest testing capacity in Europe and by May it's hospitals will be over the peak going by current figures from there. Can see a few other leagues by the end of May prepping to possibly be back soon.

'Bundesliga clubs allowed to train again. Clubs in Germany's top flight will be allowed to return to team training on Monday, with some opting to work in small groups.'

BBC reporting that.

Also plans for the EPL to return in June.

Meanwhile elements lockdown will end on the 1st of May in Austria so the ABL might be back quite soon - through no crowds allowed till the end of June at the earliest.

Meanwhile no mass gatherings in Denmark till the end of August but possibility of the league returning behind closed doors before then.

La Liga have said matches might return on either the 28th/29th May, 6th/7th June or 28th June.

Serie A are considering, as an option, having all the remaining 120+ games played in one location (3 venues in Rome aglomeration). This is to avoid teams traveling for their away games.

Australia's National Rugby League competition will restart on 28 May if the government approve it.

Scotland won't play again until July 22 at the earliest , not allowed to train until June 10 by government. Next to no chance of league being completed.

So will what UEFA say about that.
It's hard to see in England at least it not ending in multiple court cases

Who knows about Uefa they couldn't get their own Euro tournament played , have indefinitely delayed Champs League but expect nations to play their leagues to a finish. Non league in Scotland has already been abandoned , the video meeting to abandon divisions below Spfl ... Championship , Div 1 , Div 2 ended in confusion over whether Dundee did or did not cast a vote. The idea is that placings will be determined on a points per match basis , Dundee United would be promoted to Spfl and clubs would be able to receive prize money earned to keep them going until returning next season. The Spfl would also then determine outcome of season on points per match basis meaning Celtic will be allowed to be declared champions without all games needing to be played.

The Bundesliga is aiming for a May 9th return.

Ligue 1 set to return on 17 June, acc. to L'Equipe.

I still don't see Euro 2021 happening to be honest - at least with all the stadiums planed.

Rumors starting that Italy might pull out of hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics

It might be better to play them in smaller grounds for example as I think we will see poor tv ratings for behind closed doors matches.

Ekstraklasa could return on 30 May.

Tour de France start now planned for 29Aug.

Dundee have voted yes to end the season in Scotland.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52297066

Really??? I think tv ratings will go through the roof...whether the game is played behind closed doors or on the moon. I think had sports not been affected by this virus, it would have made being at home a little more tolerable.

It is 'very unrealistic' the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will take place next year unless a coronavirus vaccine has been found by then, says a leading global health scientist.

On a related note, during a press conf yesterday the Polish Min of Health suggested that we might need to wear masks and keep distance for the next 1-2 years unless a vaccine is invented...

Its ok Dr Donald Trump will have it solved by then. Along with a man on Mars, a wall between the US and Mexico and the greatest economy the world has ever known. Then again, he could just be talking utter fart.

Oh tes, Don the con, Dishonest Don, Mafia Don, Fake president.

Nobody knows more about Coronavirus than Donald Trump !!

Nobody knows more about Coronavirus than the Chinese

Don't get me started on Donald Trump, or should I say Greg Stilson? I'm always saying where is Johnny Smith when you need him? :-)

Think the 2020-2021 CL and EL will either be cancelled or some countries will withdraw. Dito Euro 2021 if the vaccine is not in mass circulation by then.

Scottish government opposed to any sporting events until there is a vaccine.

Possible they will have to relent through or see teams trying to move matches to England

Scottish government could be waiting a while then. Any vaccine found will become redundant as virus mutates. Clubs would go bankrupt ...

Which is why they might relent- not sure pubs being shut till 2021 will be popular or economically sustainable either.

Hopefully, the virus mutates into a more benign version as is the usual tendency over time with most viruses in big populations.

Meanwhile elsewhere, not directly related with Covid although it surely hasn't helped, LOKEREN are unable to find an investor and go bankrupt after 50yrs of solid performances incl. those in Europe. A part of their history were the Polish legends, Lubanski and Lato.

Looks like the Eredivise might have finished for the season.

'the French Minister of Sport has announced that Sport is not a priority and it is very uncertain if either Roland Garros or the Tour de France will happen this year.'

Going to get very difficult for UEFA for both this season and the next.

Odds are euro 2021 wont happen either.

'NEW: German football sets May 9th for resuming the season from behind closed doors - but needs political approval - Bundesliga CEO'

'League One & League Two clubs write to EFL over salary cap introduction.'

This is a sign of how big the changes might be long term.

Eredivisie season to be voided. No champion, no relegations or promotions. What do we do with our comp? Void it as well or declare the current standings as final?

My opinion is we just freeze the standinds as they are, whoever is tom wins,

whoever is top should win.

re my comment below on the dutch prediction,This is on the basis that I am sure we can all refrain from taking each other to court !!!! This is far less complicated than reality !!!

I agree that we should award the Classic win to the current leader wherever the season is 50%plus completed.

On real leagues, well, it's not that simple. Teams agree on a certain format upfront and once this format is not completed I think any decision is justified. Look at AZ Alkmaar, they had an unusual chance of winning the league this season, and now with a few games still to go someone would decide that Ajax are the champions just because the league is not able to continue? Doesn't seem fair. On the other hand, if Liverpool were not declared the winners, that would just be clearly unfair. I think we should let each league decide by themselves and respect their decisions.

Sadly the only winners in all this will be lawyers ..

Whatever leagues do someome will be upset .

Won't be any such issues on here !

Sure we can all agree the top 3 should get the medals ?

There are three very negative feedbacks to start with already.

Utrecht have been denied two chances to qualify for Europe (they would if they either won a home game at hand vs Ajax or the Dutch cup final vs Feyenoord). They declared they wouldn't accept the league's decision and would go to court.

Cambuur are 11 points clear leading the Eerste divisie with 9 gweeks to go but now won't get promoted and called the decision ridiculous.

AZ are level on points with Ajax only missing top-spot on goal difference. They won both games vs Ajax this season though. Once they're 2nd, they'll need to go through CL playoffs instead of direct qualification.

Mark, yes you are probably right. Klaus is the big boss, ultimately it should be up to him, You could freeze the standings for records sake but not award medals because the full season is not completed, that is another take.

I still think the frozen league table for a discontinued league is fair enough. If people were good enough they would be top when it was frozen.

And yes lawyers are always the winners, they just need disputes and that will always happen.

Also unlike a league no week is harder or easier for some of us compared to each other.

Court cases will tear plenty of leagues apart.

My take on any null and void campaign is that it was declared not to have happened. Den Haag therefore have as much validity to play in next season's Champions League as Ajax. Anyway nobody has any right to declare a competition over until Pat McGroin terminates Best of the rest :)

Ekstraklasa set to resume end of May, acc to Prime Minister.

Czech league to return on 25May.

UEFA sets European leagues 25May deadline for informing on restart plans.

Korean K League 1 starts on May 8.
Maybe it'll be the not bad substitution (addition) for any Specials?

Serie A unlikely to restart. Most teams are said to be against continuing the season.

Well i think that will end them all - even in places like Germany and Switzerland seemingly allowing a return.

Ligue 1: PSG crowned champions. Marseille and Rennes qualify for CL. Lille qualify for EL (the rest of participants to be determined as there's still hope for the French Cup final to be played). Toulouse and Amiens go down. Lorient and Lens promoted. Season officially over if I get the message correctly. Decision made based on points per game ratio.

https://www.francefootball.fr/news/Ligue-1-fin-de-saison-actee-classement-au-ratio-point-match-adopte-le-psg-champion-de-france-toulouse-et-amiens-relegues/1131012

The French did it right. Make the results final. That way the teams that qualify for Europe can say they did it on merit. The Dutch did it absolutely wrong. By cancelling the year, then every team is theoretically in a position qualified for Holland's Europe spots. Clubs like Waalwijk and Den Haag have as much right to those spots as Ajax and Alkmaar do. After all, they have an equal amount of points. I have heard that there are many lawsuits mounting up against the league for this stupid decision. It would be one thing to cancel a season after 5-10 games. But the season was 2/3 over. I cannot begin to understand why cancelling a season that was almost over as a wise and prudent decision. I hope, if the Dutch don't reverse their decision, take those European spots away from them.

Did they void it totally or just leave the table as it was without a title winner or relegation?

Any league that can't be finished should be declared null and void. Points per game scenario does not take all situations into consideration like early season injuries to teams , certain teams having played the top clubs twice , others just the once etc. Basically determining placings is simply for the following season , Euro qualification , relegation/promotion but simple fact is no matter what the season is incomplete and therefore should not be entered into record books. PSG were always going to be champions of France ( even before a ball was kicked ) but declaring them champions now means nothing.

I read yesterday morning (i.e a few hours before the final announcement) that Ligue 1 were supposed to adopt some sort of weighing system and not only a simple points per game ratio. I don't know if they eventually abandoned the idea and went the simple route or they did some engineering there.

Personally, I am happy about Lens returning to top-flight, it's arguably my fav French team from the old days (Nantes and St.Etienne are quite high in that ranking too). I also like Lorient so at least from this angle I am fond of the league's final decision.

@Fernando Amaro

There will be lawsuits in France as well. Lyon, Lille and Amiens are some of the teams that will do that. Some teams played PSG twice, some teams have more games at home.

Nîmes played Marseille, Lyon and PSG away in the first round, it would've been unfair, for them, to take the ranking at the 19th matchday (which was one of the options explored in France).

There is no perfect solution. Whatever the outcome is, some teams will be disadvantaged.

I'm happy I don't have to take those decisions, it's really not that simple.

Standard Liege on the verge of bankruptcy and denied the license for next season. They appealed against The decision after getting significant financial help from...Fellaini and Witsel, their former players.

SK Tamil
I absolutely agree that there will be discontent among many teams. But the season was 2/3 over. By scrapping it entirely makes no sense. In England for example, Liverpool is a mile ahead. If the EPL was to void the season, how unfair would that be? After all, the season is almost over. In leagues, where the leaders are not so far ahead, I understand the discontentment by the teams behind them, but so what? Just like in baseball, they make the game official after 5 innings have been played, so too should they make the league official if more than half the season has been played. The teams that are relegated will obviously try to fight it, but if you void the season, the teams close to promotion have every right to fight that decision too.
While I realize that there is no easy solution, voiding a season is by far the most stupid decision to do. I hope that UEFA takes the spots allocated to the leagues that void their seasons. I am sure if they were to do that, you would see how quickly no league would do that.

Some football experts say that the COVID-19 situation could be a good moment for all leagues to switch to a spring-autumn calendar year league system (like in Sweden). Short-term it would make the leagues more flexible with finishing the 19/20 season giving them time until the end of the calendar year. Long-term, the spring-autumn seems more natural as it allows for playing matches in more convenient weather conditions (end of May and June rather than December and February). It would also match well with the plans to hold the Qatar World Cup in late autumn.

No idea how serious this is but I read that it is being discussed as a fall-back option in some decision-making circles.

Unlikely in the UK due to television ratings being higher in the winter.

'French club Amiens launch petition against relegation.'

The more they start cancelling leagues the more teams will file for grievances due to relegation or lack of promotion. That plus any team slightly above the relegation line will be fighting against going back in an attempt to stay above safety. It's a nightmare that might change the way the leagues are structured in the near future

Probally end up like the USA leagues are held.

'The Turkish Super Lig will resume on 12 June and hopes to complete the season by the end of July, says the country's football federation chairman Nihat Ozdemir.'

Bundesliga gets a green light from politicians. Restart date to be announced on 7 May. League hopes to resume as early as 15 May.

According to sources, of course... :)

El regreso de la Bundesliga a la acción ha sufrido un revés después de que la canciller Angela Merkel insistió en un período de cuarentena de dos semanas para los jugadores, lo que significa que los juegos no pueden reanudarse hasta el 22 de mayo como muy pronto.
según la agencia de prensa alemana DPA. Originalmente había esperanzas de que el fútbol alemán volviera a la acción el fin de semana del 15 de mayo.

[erased after expiration date]

I have this strong feeling one of the leagues that will return will then cease again after an further outbreak.

An interesting question would also be: Are people really looking forward to watching matches played in front of empty seats? If it wasn't for the prediction-game, I wouldn't really mind if the leagues didn't return for now. I really hate watching football games without the real sound of the crowds, turn off the tv. Are the broadcasts going to do some sound engineering like adding sitcom laughs and ooos?

Bundesliga odds are back! Both 1. and 2. Good sign.

Looking briefly, they pretty much reflect the pre-Covid power rankings so apparently no major changes in teams strength expected by bookmakers there even though there must be some uncertainties around the current form of individual players and line-up formation.

'Health authority in Dresden orders the Dynamo Dresden squad into 14-day quarantine after two new coronavirus cases.'

Matches already falling behind.

In portgual any games postponed will be given as a 3-0 victory for non infected team.

So in Portugal teams are being penalised for players being unwell. Idiocy.

Think they treating it as if you must be breaking quarantine to get infected.

There will be no voiding if the season and no relegation is not an option FA tell EPL. That's clear then what is not clear is how they get it done.

The season in Scotland is over.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52646282

German football chief Fritz Keller proposes salary caps to help sport through coronavirus pandemic

NHL looking at 8-9 sites as options to restart season, Commissioner says. League considering places that can safely accommodate 'dozen or so teams in one location'. No fixed timetable.

Could UEFA suspend English teams due the quarantine rule. Knowing them I think yes they might.

Basketball's Euroleague officially cancels its season.

Ukraine is now listed for 30/31 May comeback.

Just noticed an article saying that the LEN Champions League in waterpolo (as well as any other LEN cups this season) was cancelled on 5 May 2020 without declaring a winner.

As for other CLs, I think the Volleyball CL was cancelled while Handball CL should remain open until late December 2020 when the final 4 (consisting of 2 top teams from each group) is to be held.

Correct me if I'm wrong but Top14 and Pro14 are gone too? Or is it that the season is over but playoffs still an option?

All, pls check the open prediction-games and let's try to update on their status.

On LASK Linz and their violation of covid rules by training in full group despite restrictions...

They were deducted 12pts in the regular season final table. But as the points were then cut to half before the start of the Championship Pool, they effectively lost 6pts.

11 players and 16 staff members from Karpaty Lviv had tested positive before last weekend which resulted in their game vs Mariupol being postponed.

It is possible that they will be forced to finish the season fielding their youth team.

Interesting situation in Belgium. The pandemic caught the the 2-tier teams in the middle of the playoff final. Beerschot beat Leuven 1-0 in 1st leg and 2nd leg was never played. It is provisionally scheduled for August but since the entire season in Belgium is off, this is questionable.

If the 2nd leg is not played the promotion won't be awarded either to Beerschot or Leuven but to...Westerlo who are top of the aggregate season table (while B and L are the winners of 1st/2nd half tournaments respectively). One thing's for sure - one of these teams will replace Waasland-Beveren.

Beerschot's promotion would bring back the Antwerp derby although technically Westerlo are from Antwerp province too.

Pathetic illogical decision by Austrian FA clubs get less for racist chanting from fans and match fixing , far too Salzburg orientated. As for Belgium that would make a mockery of of competitive football as we know it. Clowns the lot of them.

Meanwhile in Poland, Deeko, Stal Mielec beats Miedz Legnica 2-1 and goes top of the 2nd league table! Three teams in hunt of the two automatic Ekstraklasa promotion berths. It's this year or never for Stal :) They have a good sponsor (Polish National Energy co.). Their player to watch is Michal Zyro, a former Legia and Poland intl player, you might remember him from Wolves and Charlton where he played 20 games in total. Very talented but too vulnerable to injuries which put him where he is now. He's in his best years though and an Ekstraklasa return is on the radar so who knows.

Still a way to go with 11 gameweeks ahead.

Michal thought Stal were in with a chance this season when they beat Podbeskidzie only to have a shocker in last match day before suspension of season. Good away win would have been even better had Warta not scored last minute winner. At home last scheduled match of season so very hopeful it will happen this time... fingers and everything else crossed :)

Oh, sorry, I forgot you are much deeper into the Polish league at various league levels than I am... :)

On Austria, I heard that LASK might file a lawsuit so it's possible that the title will be decided by the court after the season ends. This is on condition that judges in Austria don't drink Red Bull.

NBA planning to return end of July but only with 22 teams, leaving out the weakest. How does that sound? All games to be played in Orlando.

Is the World Pool Masters still scheduled for next week?

No. Still no new dates available.
http://www.matchroompool.com/world-pool-masters/

Is the World Pool Masters still scheduled for next week?

No. Still no new dates available.
May not happen at all
http://www.matchroompool.com/world-pool-masters/

Thanks Darren for the update.

Really? You can't watch a game without the sound of the crowd? That would not bother me, but if it does to others, then put in crowd noise like sitcoms do with a laugh track.
I just want sports back again. I am tired of the virus news being the only on tv. I want to start looking at standings and not at virus related stats.

Also known as the Sitting Bullshit...

Speaking of the new Pearl Jam record, Gigaton (as I have been their die-hard fan for almost 30yrs now and the above reference to Donald Trump is actually made in their song 'Seven O'clock', PJ's Eddie Vedder being one of the most known Trump's critics).

Eddie has a very wise advice for all players in 'The Dance of Clairvoyants'. He sings:

SAVE YOUR PREDICTIONS!
Burn your assumptions!

:)

I think we should wait until said leagues are formally cancelled.

Klaus,
What did you mean precisely by 'handle break-offs'?

PL,FLC,ELO in England suspended until 4 April.

I personally wouldn't expect any relegations this year. The money at stake is too big for any team to accept any special solutions like playoffs etc. IMO.

And playoffs wouldn't fit in our comp format anyway.

Germany is considering a 22 team league next year.

In the UK we have the Bury issue to deal with.

We could get summer or autumn playoff's. No one knows how court cases would go and that is looking more likely in the UK at least.