The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) announced on Thursday (July 9th) that its final Champions League tournament (August 12-23) will take place behind closed doors in Lisbon. UEFA does not want to take any risks in the face of the resurgence of the coronavirus in the Portuguese capital region.
"The UEFA Executive Committee has considered it prudent to make the decision to play UEFA matches behind closed doors until further notice", the body said in a statement, saying that the final stages of the Europa League and the Champions League women, scheduled for August respectively in Germany and the Spanish Basque Country, were also affected by this measure. "UEFA is monitoring the situation and will propose any total or partial lifting of these arrangements in due time"added the European confederation, which has repeatedly hammered that it does not have a "Plan B" to its Lisbon "Final 8".
The Champions League is scheduled to end from August 12 to 23 in two stadiums in the Portuguese capital, those of Benfica and Sporting. The quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final are planned, each confrontation being reduced to a single dry match instead of the usual round-trip format.
