UCL final almost set to be played in 'Europe's coronavirus exception'

The 2020 Champions League final could be played in Lisbon at Benfica’s Estadio da Luz, rather than Istanbul where the game was originally scheduled to go ahead before the coronavirus sent world football into a place of uncertainty.

Both the Champions League and Europa League are expected to resume in August when various domestic leagues across the continent have been concluded. 

As per Mundo Deportivo, UEFA are not expected to make any formal announcement before June 17 but claims that Istanbul will soon relinquish the Champions League final over economic concerns having to play the game in a closed stadium.

The final may be moved to Lisbon along with the rest of the fixtures, that is, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals all played in the Portuguese capital. 

In that case, Sporting Cp’s Jose Alvalade stadium could also be brought in as an additional venue. Munich and Madrid are also going to be “considered”, although it seems that Lisbon will still emerge as the favorite.

Portugal have managed the coronavirus crisis very impressively compared to most of its larger neighbors and in April, it was also referred to as ‘Europe’s coronavirus exception.’ 

However, inability for the clubs to sell tickets and ongoing uncertainty surrounding traveling internationally, the normal two-legged quarters and semis could be played as a single knockout game over a period of a week of ten days.

There are a lot of other uncertainties as well, as there still has to be a call made to confirm the Champions League final date forward a week in August. However, reports also say that the fixture may clash with the Europa League.

The Women’s Champions League final is still expected to take place in Vienna, although as with the men’s competition the remaining rounds could all now be played in the Austrian capital.

featured image credits- foxsports.com