Tuesday's soccer news has the Scottish Premier League officially calling an end to its 2019-20 season. The decision comes weeks after a club vote ended the season in the lower divisions. All of Scotland's leagues used points per game to decide the final table with Celtic champions and Hearts relegated. "We would all have rather seen the league season played out on pitches, in stadiums and in . . .
The Bundesliga restart increases the pressure on other leagues
Thursday's soccer news starts with the Bundesliga close to playing games that count. In a week that began with questions over the viability of staging games, even with the strict restrictions Germany has in place, the Bundesliga seems set to resume. That not only makes them the first of Europe's leagues to get the season started. It also creates a clear runway for other leagues to do the . . .
Sporting merit, points per game, and Europe’s seasons
Wednesday's soccer news starts with another reason to wonder why UEFA didn't attempt to impose top-down regulations for how Europe's leagues complete their seasons. Instead, leagues are operating under UEFA's vague concept of sporting merit to determine final tables if they don't complete their schedules. That's led to some interesting interpretations of what sporting merit means. The Dutch wiped . . .
Europe considers its club calendar
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The Bundesliga moves closer to a restart
Wednesday's soccer news starts with what seems like a never ending story until it actually happens, European soccer leagues successfully restarting their seasons. Once again, the Bundesliga is in the lead with the German government agreeing that games can begin in May. The original plan was to restart the league on May 9 with that date now pushed to later in the month. ESPN's Stephen Uersfeld . . .
Player safety as leagues plan restarts
Tuesday's soccer news starts with the growing concern from players over plans to restart Europe's leagues. It's worth the reminder that players are under no obligation to provide media access in England. Without that regularly scheduled press availability, it's managers, executives, and owners becoming the voice of their clubs. Add pundits to that mix and the noise around the Premier League . . .
Project Restart, neutral sites, and relegation
Monday's soccer news starts with England's Project Restart running into familiar problems. The Premier League plans to finish the 2019-20 season, but that requires navigating multiple obstacles while maintaining a reasonable facsimile of the normal level of competition. None of that is easy or straightforward, with the Premier League facing the same scenarios as pro leagues across Europe and the . . .
The Premier League reportedly sets a date
Thursday's soccer news starts with a familiar topic with the Premier League holding a Friday meeting to try to figure out if they can resume the 2019-20 season. It's the same scenario, with no clear pathway to returning to enough of a normal where closed door games make sense. Short of government decree banning games even without fans, the Premier League and the rest of Europe's major leagues are . . .
Does European soccer need a unified response?
Wednesday's soccer news starts with UEFA's timeline for leagues deciding whether or not to continue the 2019-20 season. As with every timeline in the era of the coronavirus, UEFA's May 25 deadline is subject to change. Still, there has to be a date where getting the games in is no longer feasible. The governments in the Netherlands and France decided that for their domestic leagues, banning the . . .
French government all but ends Ligue 1 season
Tuesday's soccer news starts with the French government announcing a ban on sporting events until September. The move would leave the French professional leagues no choice but to cancel any plans to finish the 2019-20 season. PSG leads Ligue 1 with Marseille and Rennes in the other Champions League places. Lille, Reims, and Nice would take the Europa League spots. Nimes is in the relegation . . .
