Champions League

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. 

Of the four teams that’ve already booked their place in the Champions League quarterfinals, no side is as feared as Paris Saint-Germain. In the UCL, PSG’s remarkable front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Mauro Icardi have combined for 13 goals and six assists in eight games. 

According to midfielder Ander Herrera, having “two of the top five players in the world” in Neymar and Mbappé gives PSG every right to believe they can lift Old Big Ears in Istanbul.

On April 1, 2020, the Champions League was suspended until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four second leg Round of 16 fixtures had been completed, but four remained to be played, including Juventus vs. Lyon in Turin following the French club’s shocking 1-0 first leg victory.

Sporting events in the Netherlands will have to take place without fans in attendance until there is a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said. 

The global pandemic has infected over 41,000 people in the Netherlands and caused 5,288 deaths. 

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday organized sport could resume from Sept. 1, but de Jonge said mass gatherings would not be allowed until a vaccine had been developed.