Groundbreaking UEFA conference: The crux of "doing justice to everyone"

The Europa League in Germany, the Champions League in Portugal. UEFA makes landmark decisions on June 17. A number of questions are still open - one of them concerns two German internationals.

Nyon (dpa) - Blitz tournaments in the Champions League and Europa League, the latter in Germany, the possible reassignment of EM games and sensitive contractual issues that also affect national team player Timo Werner.

The chaos of open questions and problems demanded everything from the makers of the European Football Union the day before. The resolutions for the groundbreaking video section of the Executive Committee were discussed in internal discussions. In Munich, however, one remained completely relaxed.

"We just have to make sure that we make the best of the situation," said Hansi Flick earlier and spoke of a "very special time and situation". Like a number of other clubs and all associations across Europe, FC Bayern and its trainer are looking to Nyon, where, after weeks of discussions, UEFA wants to tie up the calendar after the Corona crisis. German football plays a central role.

According to several media reports, the outstanding co-duels of the Europa League are to be held in North Rhine-Westphalia, at the latest from the quarter-finals and only in one game each. Possible venues are Cologne, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg. The Final 8 tournament could increase from August 10th to 21st. As in the Champions League, round of 16 matches are still pending. From Germany are still Eintracht Frankfurt, VfL Wolfsburg (both after first leg defeats) and Bayer Leverkusen.

The blitz tournament of the premier class will most likely go to Lisbon, and Frankfurt am Main has also shown interest. The 23rd of August is announced as the final day, as reported by the "Bild" newspaper. Bayern's round of 16 second leg against Chelsea (first leg: 3-0) is said to take place in Munich as planned. RB Leipzig is already in the quarter-finals. The corona pandemic curiously leads to the fact that a kind of superleague is playing in Lisbon, the introduction of which has repeatedly been the subject of heated debate.

All associations, whether in Germany the German Football Association and the German Football League or in Europe the UEFA, must "make sure that they do justice to everyone. And that's not always that easy," said Flick, who is from Bavaria. Visibly stated: "I know the tournament form very well." Advice is also given as to whether Istanbul, where the final should have taken place this season, will be compensated with a new date - and whether this will have an impact on the 2022 final, which has already been awarded to Munich.

For UEFA, the decision about which players can participate in the mini-tournaments is complicated. The world association FIFA recommended that priority be given to the old clubs when making transfers, at least in order to complete the national leagues. The "Bild" newspaper reported that Timo Werner would play for Leipzig in the Bundesliga until the end of June, but would then immediately switch to Chelsea. Bayern continue to speculate about Leroy Sané from Manchester City as a new signing. The right to play for the new stars in Lisbon would be strange - but cannot be completely ruled out.

How things will continue after the final is open. So far, the first two national match days in the Nations League are on the program right at the beginning of September. After a month-long break, the DFB team is scheduled to compete against Spain on September 3 and three days later in Switzerland. However, priority should be given to the playoffs for the European Championships, which is why the Nations League start could be postponed to autumn. 16 teams took part in the qualification in twelve outstanding games for four European Championship participants.

UEFA must confirm the host cities for the final tournament, which will be postponed from June 11 to July 11, 2021. It is questionable whether all twelve will stay with it. While Munich, where three group games and a quarter-finals are expected to rise, has already made its promise public, Bilbao, for example, is considered a shaky candidate. The venues of Rome and Baku also seem uncertain.

"Everything is in order with nine cities," said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. The plan with twelve stadiums is still in place, but if necessary "ten, nine or eight" would do so. A possible bonus for Munich: The Allianz Arena would be a candidate to take over games from missing venues.

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