Club Brugge named champions after Belgian Pro League cancel season
- by Grant Boone
- in Sports
- — Apr 3, 2020
Ending the season now means that, as well as Club Brugge taking the title, Gent would go into the qualifying rounds for next season's Champions League.
"Given the above elements, the Board of Directors has formulated unanimous advice to the General Meeting not to resume the competitions of the season '19 -'20 and to accept the current state of the Jupiler Pro League as final classification [subject to the decisions of the licensing committee]".
Club Brugge were 15 points clear with one game remaining of the Belgian regular season, after which the top six teams would have competed in a play-off competition to determine who was crowned champion and which teams awarded European places for next season.
Football leagues across Europe have come to a standstill due to the spread of coronavirus that has killed close to 50,000 people around the world. The most important item on the agenda was obviously the issue of continued competition in the context of the coronavirus crisis.
"The Board of Directors has unanimously decided that it is not desirable to continue the competition after June 30".
The Board of Directors of the Pro League has decided that the competition should be stopped immediately. It agreed the risk of infecting players would also damage the competition's integrity.
The league says even games in empty stadiums would put stress on public health and security services dealing with the pandemic. "Moreover, decisions by local authorities threaten to make a joint course of match days impossible". The UEFA had previously announced the postponement of the Champions League and Europa League, which would have entered its final stage in the months of March, April and May.
The Belgian Pro League board proposed the immediate conclusion of the country's football season.
KV Oostende, who were second from bottom of the table, will not be relegated.
The working group will examine "the sporting problems and financial implications of this decision", the spokesperson added.