UEFA Champions League

European soccer body UEFA has temporarily relaxed its break-even rule known as Financial Fair Play, saying it wants to make sure that clubs are not penalized for unforeseen losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic this season.

The European soccer body said in a statement that clubs' accounts for the 2020 and 2021 financial years would be assessed together rather than separately, to give clubs time to recuperate from losses suffered during the last three months.

This season's Champions League, suspended in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be completed with an eight-team mini-tournament which will be held in Lisbon in August, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Wednesday.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will be staged over one leg, instead of the usual two, with the final to be held on Aug. 23, UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti said after an executive committee meeting held by video conference.

UEFA is set to complete the Champions League with a 'Final Eight' tournament held over 10 days in Lisbon, according to a plan that will be presented to UEFA's executive committee for ratification on Wednesday.

A source with knowledge of discussions between clubs and European soccer's governing body told Reuters that the proposal is expected to be agreed upon after a consensus was reached on Monday.

UEFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As Italian football prepares to resume on Friday with the Coppa Italia semifinals followed by Serie A on June 20, the sport does so under the shadow of a national death toll that’s now surpassed 34,000. 

Manchester City will attempt to overturn their two-year UEFA ban from European football when a three-day hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland begins on Monday.

European soccer's governing body UEFA ruled in February that City had committed serious breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations and failed to cooperate with its investigation, handing them a ban and a $34 million fine.

Valencia has criticized Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini for taking charge of his side's Champions League match against the Spanish side in March despite suffering from symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

Gasperini told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday that he felt ill on the day before the last-16 second leg match in Valencia on March 10, which was played without spectators as northern Italy was then the epicenter of the virus in Europe.

He also confirmed he has since tested positive from an antibodies test.

LONDON — The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has set aside three days in June to hear Manchester City's appeal against a two-year ban from European competition for breaching fair play rules.

Updated listings posted on the CAS website on Tuesday set a June 8-10 date.

European soccer's governing body UEFA imposed the ban in February for "serious breaches" of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

UEFA has a plan to finish the 2019-20 season by August, including the Champions League and Europa League campaigns, the European soccer governing body's president Aleksander Ceferin has said. 

The majority of European league seasons were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic but a few leagues have announced plans for a restart in the coming weeks. 

The French and Dutch top-flight campaigns have been cancelled but the German Bundesliga restarted on Saturday and Ceferin expects at least 80% of national leagues to finish their seasons. 

Sergiño Dest, like most footballers around the world, hasn’t played a competitive match since March. At 19, Dest was enjoying a breakout season at Ajax before soccer shut down across Europe. At a time when the USMNT fullback was showing his immense potential, the campaign came to an abrupt end as the Dutch league canceled the season without a champion, despite Ajax sitting top of the table.

Fortunately for Dest, his season didn’t end without some hardware.