Faced with the coronavirus epidemic, UEFA is considering behind closed doors or relocation of matches for the knockout stages of the Champions League between PSG and Dortmund, as well as for Juventus Turin and Olympique Lyonnais, according to The team .
During the UEFA executive committee on Monday in Amsterdam, Aleksander Ceferin, president of the European Confederation, assured "to follow the evolution of the epidemic carefully", before adding: "For the moment, no cancellation is not scheduled. But we will follow the decisions that will be made in the different countries. ” The Team announced that “UEFA has not decided anything concrete and is subject to the choices made by local health and government authorities. (…) If the problem continues to arise in two weeks, two options are envisaged: behind closed doors or moving the meeting to another Italian city or elsewhere in Europe. ”
The body is especially worried about the meeting between Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais, which is to be played on March 17. In fact, Turin is located near Lombardy, which has been affected by the coronavirus epidemic for more than a week. Sunday evening, Jean-Michel Aulas, the president of OL, had raised the subject after the derby against Saint-Etienne (2-0): "There are new elements since the reserve of Juve who plays in Serie It was confined because 4 players are concerned. And this team trains with the pros. We'll see what's going to happen. I await what UEFA will say. I hope the news is good and, at worst, if we have to play on neutral ground, we will. ”
Less fear on the side of PSG-Dortmund, since Ligue 1 has not been affected by the epidemic yet. The newspaper L'Equipe notably recorded the words of Noël Le Graët, president of the French Football Federation (FFF), present in Amsterdam: “There are no restrictions for the moment in the Championship, as for the Coupe de France , he rejoices. In any case, we will follow the recommendations of the public authorities. ” However, in the event of force majeure, UEFA will not hesitate to pronounce the lock-up at the Parc des Princes for this round of 16 (March 11).
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