UEFA Planning August Return for Champions League Last 16
By Ali Rampling
UEFA have set out plans for the Champions League to resume, with 8 August pencilled in as the competition's return date.
The Champions League was suspended in March following the coronavirus outbreak, with the competition halfway through the round of 16.
Liverpool's clash with Atletico Madrid and PSG versus Borussia Dortmund were the final two fixtures to be played on 12 March.
Dortmund's defeat in the Parc des Princes was played behind closed doors, while a full house at Anfield witnessed Atletico progress into the quarter finals. The fixture is being investigated for its impact on the spread of the coronavirus in Liverpool.
Atletico and PSG joined Atalanta and RB Leipzig in the last eight, but there are still four last 16 ties left to conclude: Bayern Munich versus Chelsea, Manchester City versus Real Madrid, Juventus versus Lyon and Barcelona versus Napoli.
According to French news outlet RMC Sport, UEFA officials and club presidents held a video conference on Wednesday morning, where their intention to complete the competition was reiterated.
Juventus versus Lyon is pencilled in to take place on 8 August should they get a green light from the Italian authorities, with the remaining three last 16 encounters following accordingly.
The quarter finals would then take place the following midweek.
In order for this to be possible, UEFA are aiming for all domestic leagues to be completed by 31 July.
The format for the last eight and semi finals remain unclear. Instead of home and away ties, they could be single leg affairs at neutral venues.
The final is scheduled to be played in Istanbul, and the Turkish authorities are confident that they can still host European football's flagship event.
Turkish Football Federation president Nihat Ozdemir told a news conference [via the Mirror]: "God willing, we will complete our own leagues at the end of July.
“We will hand over our cups on the pitch and then we will cap the season off by hosting the UEFA Champions League final in August.”