Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin: European leagues may not finish
The head of European football's governing body said that the current season could be "lost" if it is unable to restart by the end of June, although he did not rule out extending it into the next season.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that there were a number of options for concluding the season, which has been brought to a halt around Europe by the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: "Nobody knows when the pandemic will end.
"There is a plan A, B and C. The three options are to start again in mid-May, in June or at the end of June.
"If we don't succeed, the season will probably be lost."
However, he then added: "There is also the possibility of starting again at the beginning of the next, starting the following one later.
"We will see the best solution for leagues and clubs."
The 52-year-old Slovenian has said finishing domestic leagues was the priority, even if it meant playing behind closed doors.
He said: "It's hard for me to imagine all the matches behind closed doors, but we still don't know whether we'll resume, with or without spectators.
"If there was no alternative, it would be better to finish the championships anyway.
"But I can say that I don't think about the finals of the European club competitions behind closed doors."
"In this dramatic moment, the most important thing is health, and to get out of this crisis," he added.
"The interruption of football symbolises that Europe and the world have stopped.
"European football is strongly united."
Ceferin said that the decision to postpone Euro 2020 until next year "has shown that every emergency is our emergency and every club is our club".
He said that a video conference with representatives of clubs, leagues and players was "a fantastic demonstration of unity and solidarity".
He was also talking to Fifa and its president Gianni Infantino, despite recent differences.
"It is important to forget personal interests and disagreements," he said. - REUTERS
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