Champions! UEFA say the Premier League title should go to Liverpool whether the season is finished or not on their ‘sporting merit’ rule… in a move that will effectively end their 30-year wait to be kings of England
- Liverpool are 25 points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league
- They have failed to win only two of their 29 league games this season
- There had been calls to declare the 2019-20 season ‘null and void’
- That possibility appears to have been taken off the table by UEFA’s directive
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Liverpool are set to finally end their 30-year wait to be champions of England after UEFA ruled out the Premier League season being declared ‘null and void’.
European football’s governing body insisted that domestic campaigns would be settled on ‘sporting merit’ on Thursday if they cannot be finished.
The Premier League was suspended last month due to the spread of coronavirus and remains on an indefinite hiatus with lockdown in full effect.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be celebrating as they are set to be crowned champions
UEFA ruling out a ‘null and void’ season will effectively leave Liverpool to take home the title
Reds fans had been concerned that the pandemic would deny them a first league title since 1990, but UEFA’s directive appears to have taken that possibility off the table.
It is likely that Champions League places will be decided on a points-per-game basis if remaining matches cannot be played.
A play-off could also be held, but Premier League clubs are believed to favour PPG as the fairest method.
UEFA’s ‘sporting merit’ directive will result in Liverpool winning their first title since 1990
Liverpool are 25 points ahead of second-placed Manchester City and 37 clear of Manchester United in fifth with just nine games remaining.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have won 27 of their 29 games this season. They were held by Manchester United at Old Trafford in October before their unbeaten run came to an end in February with a shock defeat at Watford.
While UEFA prefers seasons to be played out, if that is not possible they want each nation to select qualifying clubs ‘based on sporting merit in the 2019-20 domestic competitions.’
Liverpool are 25 points clear of Manchester City having won 27 of 29 games this season
Choosing a mechanism would be up to each nation. However, it is most likely that clubs would have a points-per-game figure worked out, which would then be used to calculate who qualifies.
UEFA say whichever procedure is chosen should be ‘based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory principles’.
They added: ‘National associations and Leagues should otherwise have the ability to decide the final positions in their domestic competitions, having regard to the specific circumstances of each competition.’
Here’s how the Premier League table would look based on points won per game played
While the Premier League remain committed to completing the season, UEFA have removed a key barrier to it finishing with no further play — although the legal and commercial issues with television companies remain.
UEFA added that it may refuse admission to clubs from a domestic competition which has not been terminated for the reasons they outline. They say that national associations may have legitimate reasons to end seasons early, where governments forbid the return of sporting events which ‘would make it impossible to complete the current season in good time before the next season starts’.
They also list ‘insurmountable economic problems’ as a legitimate reason for termination.
Thursday’s meeting of UEFA’s executive committee was led by president Alexander Ceferin and held via a videoconference from 9am.
Plenty of big decisions had previously been made by the committee, such as the postponement of Euro 2020 until 2021.