The WHO was instrumental in advising the IOC and Tokyo 2020 organizers to postpone the Olympic Games this summer for a year. It also provided advice for UEFA ahead of its decision to postpone Euro 2020 by 12 months.
Earlier an Italian publication suggested that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had sent a notice to UEFA regarding the suspension. According to the publication, UEFA received notice from the WHO during a two-and-a-half-hour Executive Committee meeting last Thursday, which recommended football is not resumed until the start of 2022 to avoid a second wave of COVID-19.
UEFA denies receiving any notice from WHO
UEFA spokesperson talked to a British Daily newspaper where he denied any such requests from the WHO. He said that there were no such requests from the WHO to cancel or stall the game of football until late 2021.
The World Health Organisation has also released a statement: “This is not correct. WHO never recommended that football should no longer be played until the end of 2021.”
The UEFA could also determine current rankings in the league tables across the European leagues to determine who qualifies for UEFA Champions League and who does not. This comes as a major shocker for Arsenal as they were expected to miss out on the tournament for yet another year but they currently are placed fourth above Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspurs, and Leicester City.
Reports have suggested that the European governing body is tentatively working towards a Champions League final of 29 August, with a plan to complete all domestic cup and league competitions by the end of July to enable the Champions League and Europa League to be completed the following month.
“WHO provides advice to organizers of sports events but it is not the decision-maker. In general, the later the dates, the more time the world will have to gather additional knowledge and understanding of COVID-19, as well as to prepare for the global recovery from the pandemic.”