UEFA postpones CL, Europa League finals

Nyon (Switzerland), Mar 24

UEFA has announced that it has postponed the Champions League, Europa League and women's Champions League finals, originally scheduled for May, due to the coronavirus pandemic, with no new date given.

European football's governing body had already postponed the competitions until further notice earlier this month. UEFA said on Monday that "no decision has yet been made on rearranged dates".

"The working group, established last week as a result of the conference call among the stakeholders of European football, which was chaired by UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, will analyse the options available," UEFA said in a statement. "The group has already begun its examination of the calendar. Announcements will be made in due course."

The 2020 men's Champions League final had been due to be played at Istanbul's Ataturk Stadium on May 30, with the Europa League final to have been staged in Polish city Gdansk three days before.

The women's Champions League final was scheduled for May 24 in Vienna.

Four of the men's last-16 second legs, originally slated for March 17 and 18, were delayed because of the new coronavirus outbreak, along with all of the Europa League last-16 return games. Europe's top leagues have all been postponed, while the 2020 European Championship has been put back until next year. — AFP

Bayern, Dortmund agree for pay cuts

Berlin: Footballers at Germany's top teams including Bayern Munich have agreed to take pay cuts to help clubs survive the economic impact of the coronavirus, media reports said today. Newspaper Bild reports that players and club officials at champions Bayern, top of the Bundesliga when the season was halted on March 13, have accepted a 20 percent cut in their salaries. Like all top European leagues the German top flight is losing income from broadcasting, sponsorships and ticket sales during the Covid-19 pandemic, with matches in Germany suspended until at least April 2. Bayern has a massive wage bill which reached ^336 million last year, almost half of club turnover. Rivals Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen players are also in talks over pay cut proposals with management. AFP