Switching Euros to 2021 brings problems for UEFA

On Tuesday UEFA took the unprecedented decision to delay their flagship international competition for a year, due to concerns over coronavirus.

The tournament, which was due to be played this summer is now due to start on June 11, 2021, with the final on July 11. The governing body is hoping the play-offs to complete the line-up of the teams can take place this June.

The decision has been taken partly to free up time in the calendar for club competitions to be completed, but it will not be without its difficulties, warns the Mishcon de Reya lawyer.

For the first time in its 60-year history, the tournament was due to be played across 12 countries, with England taking the lead. Wembley was due to host seven matches, including both semi-finals and the final.

“Stadiums will have committed to providing their facilities at the expense of other events,” Leaf pointed out. “The agreements prevent the stadium being used for anything else which is fine when you are receiving the fees for hosting the games.

“Given that there is now a delay for another year, the same will be true next summer. They may have already committed to events next year.

“There is an argument to say they should receive the fees they were due this summer as well as next.

“They usually contain a force majure clause which effectively lets the venues off the hook of fulfilling their obligations in the event of unforeseen circumstances. That would leave Wembley but not the authorities off the hook because UEFA can still make the payments.

“There will be all the suppliers of the merchandise and the catering to consider. They will have gone through a long procurement process to win the contract but given where we are, will they still be around in a year’s time?

“Some sponsors will have decided who their faces of the tournament would be and may have shot those advertising campaigns and purchased the media space which is now kind of wasted.

“The faces of the tournament this year may not be the faces of next year. And there might be players who were planning to use the tournament as a goodbye to international football.”