Ajax Techincal Director Marc Overmars has compared UEFA to the Donald Trump administration for their insistence on finishing the football season despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Football leagues throughout Europe (with the exception of Belarus) have been postponed, and it is looking uncertain when they will be able to finish. Many believe they should just be voided, but there remains a commitment to completing the games when it is possible to do so.
UEFA met with member associations this week where that message was reinforced. However, it is not being welcomed by all. The Dutch FA said they hope to have their season finished by August 3rd.
Speaking to De Telegraaf, Overmars said UEFA were comparable to Trump for this stance and that leagues should postponed and that public health should be the priority.
Why would it be about money and not people's well-being at this time? I had hoped that the KNVB would take an independent decision, but they are now hiding behind UEFA.
I have a lot of difficulty understanding that.
We in the Netherlands are not as dependent on television rights incomes as the leagues in Spain, England, Italy and Germany are.
I think that they had been put under big pressure by UEFA to continue playing at whatever cost.
I'm comparing the KNVB and UEFA with the sentiments of American president Donald Trump a week ago when he thought the economy was more important than the coronavirus.
Hallo! There are more than a 100 people dying daily in the Netherlands because of the coronavirus.
The league is dead, life is more important.
Some of this may caused by the Dutch FA's insistence their league be finished by early August, but this is not stance that has come from within UEFA. Quite the opposite in fact:
Sources connected to Uefa discussions telling me that no specific date has been set for end of 2019-20. Dutch FA comments referred to as “weird”
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) April 1, 2020
Either way, completing the 19/20 season when it is safe to do so, even if that means delaying the beginning of the following campaign, seems the most likely option right now.
