European Soccer Tries to Find a Way Back, or a Way Out

At least, it seemed, the Dutch had made a decision. Alone among Europe’s soccer leagues, they now had some clarity about what the immediate future held. On Friday morning, the Netherlands became the first country in Europe to call off its soccer season. There would be no champion crowned, no teams condemned to relegation. It was over.

Within a few hours, though, the first wisps of fog started to descend. Utrecht was sitting in sixth place when the coronavirus pandemic struck. It had played one game fewer than Willem II, in fifth, and was only three points behind. Utrecht was a single win away from overtaking its rival and claiming the country’s final European qualification spot.

By Friday night, Frans van Seumeren, Utrecht’s owner, was declaring on television that his club would “use all the lawyers” it could muster to fight the decision to end the season.

Cambuur, a club in Leeuwarden, was just as unhappy. It had been clear at the top of the country’s second division, already dreaming of, and planning for, a return to the top flight next season. But with no relegation, there could be no promotion. “This is the greatest shame in the history of Dutch sport,” the club’s coach, Henk de Jong, said. Cambuur, too, was considering legal action.

By Saturday, just a day after the Netherlands heard its season was over, things did not seem quite so clear-cut. The action might be finished on the field, but there remains a threat that part of it will play out in court.

The feeling is familiar to all those involved in trying to plot European soccer’s way out of its indefinite hiatus. Decisions tend not to stick. Plans for resumption or cancellation or some half measure often seem to have a shelf life measured in minutes. As the Dutch experience proves, complete certainty remains elusive.

Six weeks on, there is, at least, a broad vision of what should happen next, decided Thursday on a video conference led by UEFA, European soccer’s governing body. Ideally, national leagues would play to a finish. For most, that remains the intention. Across the continent, most competitions are showing flickering signs of life.

In Germany, which is likely to have the first league back,the Bundesliga has a plan to playagain, in empty stadiums, as early as May 8, though that may yet be delayed, depending on the advice of governors and health experts. Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, has said his country’s teams should be able to return to training on May 18, with games expected in June and July.