Opinion | Coronavirus puts Euro 2020 at risk, Uefa needs to brace itself

“Let’s try to be optimistic,” Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin told the annual congress on Tuesday, “not think about dark scenarios – there’s time for that later.” In Uefa’s case there are 100 days to its flagship tournament, the European Championships. This year’s tournament is the first where hosting will be shared among 12 countries, five of which have confirmed coronavirus cases. Uefa could not have picked a worse time to host its first month-long “party all over Europe”, as it describes a tournament that will stretch from Bilbao to Baku. Still, they are unlikely to not let it go without a fight. Ceferin’s predecessor, Fifa president Gianni Infantino, said last week that this month’s international friendlies may be cancelled because of the spread of the coronavirus, but it was important not to panic. Don't Panic! FIFA President Gianni Infantino plays down fears that Coronavirus will impact football.#FIFA #UEFA #Infantino #Coronavirus #soccer #football #euro2020 #championsleague #laliga #europaleague #premierleague #epl #seriea #italy #dadsarmy pic.twitter.com/IPsRxIDNPo — sntv (@sntvstory) March 3, 2020 Uefa is not. As it stands, its plans for Euro 2020, the Champions League and Europa League remain unchanged, while Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis explained they are monitoring the outbreak. “We are addressing the situation, maintaining contact with the World Health Organisation and different governments,” he said at the congress. “We have to deal with it case by case. We do not want to overreact.” Even still, unchanged does not mean unaffected. It has been confirmed that the Uefa Champions League second leg between Valencia and Atalanta next week will be played behind closed doors as per Spanish government advice. The Italian side have had two of their Serie A fixtures among those postponed because of the virus, which is not ideal preparation for their biggest game in decades. European football missing an open goal with Wuhan game There may also be a knock-on effect of Atalanta’s trip. Ludgorets, the Bulgarian side who played Inter Milan away in the Europa League behind closed doors last week, were not allowed to play their league game last weekend as a precaution. The chief executive of Inter – who also saw their game against Juventus switched to behind closed doors before being postponed until May – has spoken of the possibility that Serie A will run out of time. “If more matches are called off then, yes, we run that risk,” Giuseppe Marotta told the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. That’s because European football needs to finish by May 24 in time for Euro 2020’s planned kick-off in Rome on June 12. While only the Swiss top flight has followed Asia’s biggest leagues in calling a halt to the season – there are no games in Switzerland until March 23 – plans are being discussed across Europe. The English Premier League is one such league, with contingencies being planned awaiting a change in government policy. Xenophobia spreads quicker than virus in football world British media have already mooted games behind closed doors, while some have reported that the league itself might be cancelled. That has led to articles about champions elect Liverpool being denied their first title in 30 years, something that manager Jurgen Klopp dismissed. “Nice story,” the German said. “Obviously some newspapers have always to write something but when I saw it the first time I really thought, ‘Wow, really, somebody thinks something like that?’” Plenty of Manchester United, Manchester City and Everton supporters certainly think like that, hoping for the real life equivalent of turning your computer off before saving in a game of Football Manager. An end to the season is the nuclear option. Most likely, if anything, is that games will be played behind closed doors – the footballing equivalent of working from home. West Ham United manager David Moyes has already voiced his opposition to the idea. “If football is going behind closed doors it is not worth it because football is for supporters. Football is for fans. That is what it is for,” Moyes said ahead of his side’s game against Newcastle United last weekend. But at least closed doors would eliminate the problem at RB Leipzig last weekend where up to 20 Japanese students were kicked out of the stadium after 20 minutes over coronavirus fears. The club have subsequently apologised but the climate of fear and discrimination around the virus is reason enough to reconsider the Euros from a fan perspective. While some clubs refused to play Wuhan Zall, the Chinese Super League side from the coronavirus epicentre that are stranded in Spain on a prolonged preseason, Real Madrid hosted the CSL side at the Bernabeu for the win over Barcelona last Sunday. That rare positive story around the virus was a reminder that, despite what Bill Shankly famously said to the contrary, it is just a game. Newcastle boss Steve Bruce made that very point last weekend. “When you see what’s happening in Italy you have to worry about it. A game of football is not as important as people dying. We’ll have to do what we have to do.” We might see football’s importance taken down a couple of notches in the coming weeks and months, with the multibillion-dollar industry reconsidered as non-essential travel. Uefa might not want to consider it because of the financial impact but its Europe-wide party risks being a Europe-wide wake.