The former Arsenal star admits it is difficult to see how the Reds can be awarded the crown, even when taking their commanding lead into consideration.

Photo by Getty

Liverpool are unfortunate to find themselves in Premier League title limbo, admits Paul Merson, as “if it was Manchester City 25 points clear, nobody would care”.

The Reds have waited 30 years to get their hands on the English top-flight crown.

Having moved to the brink of a first coronation in three decades, competitive football has shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic and cast doubt over whether an end to 2019-20 will be reached.

The preference of many is to get the campaign completed, even if that means tweaking the schedule of future events.

Merson – a two-time title winner during his playing days at Arsenal – believes that has to be the case, with it difficult to see how Liverpool could be handed a trophy with nine games left to play.

He concedes that history is further complicating an already tricky situation, as a similar debate would probably have been avoided had serial winners such as City been leading the way.

The ex-England international told Sky Sports: “It’s all well saying Liverpool are 25 points clear, but if I played snooker with my mate tomorrow, and I needed 25 snookers to win, and he said: ‘The game has finished, there’s no point playing on!’ – for the next week or two, I’d be saying: ‘But I could have won that!’

“You really feel for them, waiting 30 years for a title. If it was Manchester City 25 points clear, nobody would care! Because they’ve won it already. This team hasn’t won it for 30 years! This is like a film.

“I really feel for them; even if you gave them the league now, mathematically it’s not won. I know they’ve won it in essence, we all know that, but it’s not the same! It’s a shame.”

Merson is among those to have offered up a potential solution to the poser facing Premier League bosses.

On his plan of action, the Gunners legend said: “What we could have done is put every club into complete isolation for a few weeks, and in a few weeks’ time, we’ll start again.

“We test them all after those few weeks, then we play all the games behind closed doors. All the games would be televised at all different times. But this is still a chaotic solution.

“I don’t think you can have 22 teams, promote West Brom and Leeds and then relegate five next year. And if they declare the season null and void, what are they going to do – give everyone their season ticket back because the season essentially never happened?

“There’s nothing to say the season has to start in August, that’s just how we choose it. The Euros will be next year, so no silly England international friendlies, which buys six or so weeks, so we could start the season later in September and October.

“Euro 2020 isn’t happening. That’s 100 per cent, for me. I wouldn’t even have the meeting on Tuesday. I don’t even know why they’re having a meeting about it. There’s no point.

“The Champions League and Euros are simple – cancel them. They don’t need to be played.”

Source – Goal.com

The coronavirus pandemic has brought a halt to world football and the planned summer tournament is set to be moved to make room for seasons to finish.

Photo by Getty/Goal composite

Euro 2020 has been pushed back by 12 months to become Euro 2021 as part of UEFA’s proposals to combat the scheduling issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Domestic and European fixture lists will also see sweeping changes made in an effort to get 2019-20 campaigns completed.

Football competitions around the world have been brought to a halt by the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.

Authorities have, in collaboration with health officials, been left with no choice but to implement immediate suspensions across the board following discussions with European football leaders.

The Norwegian FA was the first to confirm plans that UEFA’s signature international tournament will become Euro 2021 and kick off on June 11, 2021.

Efforts are now being made to ensure that the current season does not become null and void.

UEFA said in a statement on Tuesday: “The health of all those involved in the game is the priority, as well as to avoid placing any unnecessary pressure on national public services involved in staging matches.

“The move will help all domestic competitions, currently on hold due to the Covid-19 emergency, to be completed.

“All UEFA competitions and matches (including friendlies) for clubs and national teams for both men and women have been put on hold until further notice.

“A working group has been set up with the participation of leagues and club representatives to examine calendar solutions that would allow for the completion of the current season and any other consequence of the decisions made today.”

A European Championship due to be staged in various cities across the continent was set to get underway on June 12, 2020.

That is no longer feasible, meaning that the event will be postponed until 2021.

At domestic level, the intention is to play the regular season through to a finish, with campaigns closing before June 30.

The Champions League final is expected to be pushed back to the end of June 2020, with Europe’s premier club competition yet to complete the round of 16.

European Championship play-offs that were cancelled in the March international break will now take place at the start of June “subject to a review of the situation”, according to UEFA.

The 2021 Nations League Finals, which was supposed to be staged in June 2021, is being pencilled in for the following September.

There are a number of other matters still to be addressed, with European nations intended to be taking in 2022 World Cup qualifiers next summer.

FIFA’s inaugural 24-team Club World Cup is also supposed to see the curtain come up in 2021. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has indicated that his FIFA counterpart, Gianni Infantino, is keen to cooperate with the European football governing body. Copa America 2020 will also be moved to 2021.

UEFA is, however, doing all it can to resolve as many problems as possible during a testing time for sport as a whole.

Once any initial proposals have been given the green light, then attention can turn towards addressing the outstanding issues.

Source – Goal.com

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has urged the football community to use the “power of the game” to reinforce key messages in relation to coronavirus.

Gianni Infantino was re-elected for a second term as Fifa president in June

In a letter to Fifa’s members and stakeholders, seen by the BBC, Infantino has underlined the need to follow World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.

He also spoke of the challenges the game will face in recovering from a global crisis that, on Tuesday, is likely to see the European Championship postponed by Uefa.

In addition, the Copa America is unlikely to take place as planned, while leagues, plus international and domestic competitions across the world are either suspended or being played behind closed doors.

“We must now do everything in our power to protect fans, players, coaches, and everyone else involved in our beautiful game,” said Infantino. “Most importantly, the football authorities must take all necessary measures to prevent the virus spreading to the wider community.

“In partnership with the WHO, we are launching awareness building initiatives designed to provide practical recommendations and steps to tackle the spread of Covid-19.”

Infantino praised the football community for the solidarity and unity it has shown so far but warned this must continue “when thinking about how we will address the consequences we will have to face for the future of our game, once this serious risk to human health is behind us”.

The letter says Fifa will keep in touch with all relevant bodies and hopes “in due course” to find solutions to what Infantino terms as “a difficult period”.

“Health first and sporting solidarity should be the key principles guiding decision-making at this important moment in time and I am sure that the whole football community will live up to the great values of our sport,” he said.

“Sport in general and football, in particular, can – and I believe will – play a big part in helping our world recover once we have, hopefully sooner rather than later, returned to normality.

“Challenging circumstances offer the opportunity for people to come together, show what they can do in a collective spirit, and emerge stronger and better prepared for the future. We know that this is one of those moments.”

Source – BBC News

A mini-tournament to decide the Champions League and Europa League will be one option put forward to ease fixture congestion caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Euro 2020, scheduled to take place at 12 venues across Europe this summer, could be postponed to give European leagues time to complete their domestic seasons

European football’s governing body, Uefa, is hosting a video conference with major stakeholders on Tuesday.

Euro 2020 is set to be postponed to allow league seasons to be completed.

A source close to the situation says all parties must be ready to sacrifice something to reach a solution.

All 55 Uefa members, the boards of the European Club Association and the European Leagues, and a representative of world players’ union Fifpro have been invited to Tuesday’s meeting.

The Uefa members will also hold an additional meeting to discuss their own reaction.

How would a mini-tournament work?

As with the Premier League, who on Friday stressed their commitment to completing the season, Uefa wants the Champions League and Europa League to reach a conclusion because they also have major broadcasting contracts to satisfy.

Both tournaments are at their last-16 stage, with six matchdays remaining, including the final. There are still 14 last-16 ties across the two competitions to be completed.

Playing the quarter-finals and semi-finals as one-off games would cut two fixtures off the remaining schedule.

Playing them over a handful of days as a mini-tournament – in Istanbul and Gdansk, host cities for this season’s finals – would concentrate the matches even further, cutting down on travelling and cause the least disruption to the domestic leagues.

It has not been ruled out these games could be played in conjunction with league matches – nor does the Champions League final have to mark the end of the club campaign as tradition dictates.

Moving Euro 2020, due to take place at venues across Europe from 12 June to 12 July, to next summer would also free up more time to complete domestic and European fixtures.

However, that would then impact on next year’s calendar.

Both the Women’s European Championship, hosted by England, and the men’s European Under-21 Championship, in Hungary and Slovenia, are scheduled for the summer of 2021. The Nations League, the draw for which was held earlier in March, is due to be completed next spring.

In addition, the first edition of the expanded Fifa Club World Cup is set to be held in China in June.

While the big domestic leagues have problems over television contracts to solve if games do not take place, most countries rely on the payments from Uefa that come out of major international tournaments to allow their own leagues to function properly. These would be at risk from any movement of the European Championship and are likely to form part of any agreement.

Uefa has an estimated 400 staff working on the Euros. It is unknown what will happen to them if the tournament does not take place for another 12 months.

The situation is not made any easier by not knowing when football will be able to resume.

Uefa accepts it is impossible to know when current travel restrictions will be lifted, but it cannot wait until they are to draft a plan.

Source – BBC News

The German entrepreneur has insisted any immunisation will not be sold to the United States despite reports to the contrary.

Photo by Getty Images

Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp claims a coronavirus vaccine “could be available” by the autumn, providing human trials go ahead as scheduled in the coming months.

Hopp has found himself in the German football headlines since the turn of the year, with supporters publicly protesting against his influence behind the scenes in the Bundesliga.

The 79-year-old is the majority shareholder at Hoffenheim with a 96 per cent stake in the club, and his finances have helped the team go from the lower reaches of German football to Bundesliga regulars.

Hoffenheim’s recent home fixture against Bayern Munich was called to a halt on two occasions, as staff removed banners taking aim at Hopp, one of which read: “son of a b*tch.”

German fans believe that clubs operating outside of the “50-1” rule which allows supporters to retain a stake in their clubs are ruining modern football, with RB Leipzig also viewed as a “plastic” organisation.

The Bundesliga has faced major disruptions for far more urgent concerns recently, with the coronavirus outbreak causing delays to the 2019-20 campaign.

Hopp is also the main investor in biopharmaceutical company CureVac, who are currently working on a vaccine to combat Covid-19.

The Hoffenheim chief has revealed that CureVac have been on the frontlines of the crisis since the turn of the year, and he insists that a breakthrough could be made in the next six to seven months.

When asked how long it will be before a vaccine is released to the public, Hopp told Sport1: “That depends on the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute (the german institute for vaccines).

“It has to be tested first with animals and then with human beings. But I think it could be available in autumn at the time when possibly the next wave of infections will come.”

The potential for a vaccine has already begun to cause controversy, however, with some sections of the German media claiming United States president Donald Trump is keen to secure a number of the German scientists working on the immunisation to work for the U.S..

Hopp, however, insists that the vaccine will not be privatised, saying: “If we succeed soon to develop an effective vaccine against the coronavirus then this vaccine should reach, protect and help people all over the world and not only in one region.”

UEFA officials are due to convene on Tuesday to discuss how best to move forward regarding the current season, with it suggested that Euro 2020 may be pushed back by a year to allow clubs to complete their schedules.

Hopp is fully behind such a notion, and thinks that the tournament may benefit in the long run given the likelihood of the Club World Cup also being called off.

“This tournament [Euro 2020] has to be cancelled, it could be played next year,” he added. “This would have the advantage that the Club World Cup could not be played. That tournament (the Club World Cup) is not advisable anyway.”

Source – Goal.com

The 25-year-old has followed in the steps of his Portugal team-mate from Sporting to Old Trafford, and is enjoying his time in Manchester so far.

Photo by Getty

Bruno Fernandes has opened up on his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo after following in his footsteps by joining Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon.

Fernandes has enjoyed an impressive start to his career at Old Trafford, picking up the Premier League Player of the Month award in his first few weeks at the club.

The 25-year-old is a team-mate of Ronaldo’s at international level, with 19 appearances for Portugal to his name since making his debut in 2017.

Speaking to Cronache Di Spogliatoio, Fernandes said: “He welcomed me very well to the Portugal national team.

“We look at him as an idol, he has always been an idol for me. I followed his example, he is one of my favourites.

“When I was called up by Portugal, he came to me saying, ‘You are doing a good job at Sporting, I like it’. Words like these make the difference.”

After a lengthy transfer saga which at one point looked to have been dead, Fernandes joined United for €55 million (£50m/$61m) in January.

He notched two goals and three assists in his first five Premier League appearances, as well as a goal and an assist in the Europa League.

Fernandes and United appear to be a match made in heaven – much like Ronaldo and United – and he spoke with reverence for his new club.

“When I arrived for the medicals, everything impressed me,” he said. “At the training ground, you can find everything.

“At Old Trafford you warm up with nobody in the stands, you hear nothing in the tunnel, and then you enter the pitch and you hear an incredible noise.

“If you talk about stadiums that everyone knows, the most historic are San Siro and Old Trafford.”

Fernandes’ fellow Portuguese, right-back Diogo Dalot, has made the bold claim of predicting his compatriot will become a club legend at United.

“He’s a top guy, a top player. He is going to be a legend,” Dalot told the Official Manchester United Podcast.

“He’s unbelievable, he can be better of course as well. He’s going to learn a lot from this club.

“I think he is a massive player to have in this team and he’s going to be a very good player for this club. He’s going to be [a legend], no doubt about that.”

Source – Goal.com

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has set up a fundraising page and pledged financial support to Unicef to help children affected by coronavirus.

Paul Pogba has set up a fundraiser to “help fight this war against Covid-19”

After turning 27 on Sunday, Pogba set up the birthday fundraiser to “help fight this war against Covid-19”.

The France international says he will double the fund if his goal of £27,000 is reached.

“The impact of a large-scale outbreak, especially on poor and vulnerable children, can be immense,” Pogba wrote.

“It’s my birthday and I’m always grateful that me, my family and friends are healthy. Nonetheless, not everybody is in good health right now.

“At times like this we need to come together.”

The money will be used to provide disposable gloves, surgical masks and vented goggles for health workers,.

On his 26th birthday, Pogba raised £7,360 for clean water organisation Charity Water.

Source – BBC News

Jan Vertonghen’s family was held at knifepoint as four armed men burgled his home while he was on Champions League duty with Tottenham on Tuesday.

Jan Vertonghen’s contract at Tottenham expires in the summer

Police confirmed men wearing balaclavas forced their way into the house while his wife and children were inside.

The 32-year-old Belgium defender was in Germany for the second leg of Spurs’ last-16 defeat against RB Leipzig.

“We have been supporting Jan and his family through this terribly traumatic time,” said a Spurs spokesperson.

“We encourage anyone who has any information to come forward to help the police with their investigation.”

A Met Police spokesman said: “Police were called to a residential address in NW3 at 7.49pm on 10 March to a report of a burglary.

“Officers attended. It was reported four men wearing balaclavas, armed with knives, had forced entry to the property and stolen a number of items before leaving.

“Nobody was injured. The suspects had left the scene before officers arrived. There have been no arrests and inquiries continue.”

Vertonghen is the latest footballer to be targeted by criminals.

In December burglars broke into the London home of Crystal Palace defender, Mamadou Sakho, reportedly stealing valuables worth more than £500,000.

Arsenal footballers Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac were attacked by carjackers in July 2019, while Liverpool forward Sadio Mane had his house burgled while he was playing in a Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich in February 2019.

Source – BBC News

Italy’s football federation will ask for Euro 2020 to be postponed over the coronavirus outbreak so they can complete the Serie A season.

Italian FA President Gabriele Gravina hopes Serie A will finish by the end of June

“We will propose to UEFA the delay of the European Championships,” Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation told the SportMediaset television channel.

“We will try to get to the end of this [domestic] championship because it is fairer and more correct after the many investments and sacrifices of our clubs.”

Top-flight football across Europe has ground to a halt as a result of the spread of the coronavirus, with national and continental club competitions suspended or postponed.

The Premier League and EFL have postponed all fixtures until April 4 and 3 respectively at the earliest.

Representatives of European clubs and leagues and the players will join national federations on an emergency video-conference call organised by UEFA on Tuesday.

Discussions will include Euro 2020 which is due to take place in 12 European countries, including Italy, from 12 June to 12 July.

Gravina said he hoped that Serie A could finish by June 30, although he did not rule out extending it for another month.

He also suggested that Italian clubs should not train for the time being.

Source – Sky Sports

The two teammates made the trip to the fast food restaurant to help with the Portuguese star’s weight.

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo visited McDonalds drive-thru the night before a Manchester United game to help with the Portuguese attacker’s body.

Juventus star Ronaldo is famous for his physique and is still going strong with Italian champions at the age of 35.

But Rooney, who is now a captain-coach at Championship club Derby County, has revealed that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner wasn’t always careful about what food he was putting into his body.

When Rooney arrived at Old Trafford in 2004 – 12 months after Ronaldo joined United from Sporting – he drove the future superstar to matches and training.

However, the two teenagers were forced to make a detour one evening as Ronaldo needed to bulk up his wiry frame.

“With Cristiano, when I first got to United we used to go to games and training together. I remember the night before a game stopping off at McDonald’s because he wanted a Big Mac,” Rooney said in an interview with the Times.

“He was trying to put weight on because he was so thin. I was driving the car, having to go through the drive-through to get him a Big Mac.”

Ronaldo and Rooney formed a deadly duo at the Theatre of Dreams, going on to win the Champions League, Premier League, League Cup and Club World Cup together – with only the FA Cup eluding them.

Rooney continued on at Manchester United for the bulk of his career before moving to the MLS and finally settling at Derby, while Ronaldo joined Real Madrid to win another four Champions League titles and a swag of team and individual honours.

The Portugal international is known to now have six meals and five naps a day as he attempts to prolong his career at the highest level with Juve – a work ethic that Rooney finds incredible.

“With four kids I don’t know how he fits that in,” Rooney said.

“You’ve got Ronaldo, who looks a million dollars, whereas I’ve never had the best body, but I can play 90 minutes, I can train every day. I have no worries physically. When I do, I’ll stop.”

Source – Goal.com