Uefa holding talks over venues for last-16 Champions League and Europa League matches
Uefa are holding further talks over the venues for last-16 matches in the Champions League and Europa League ahead of Friday’s draw for the quarter-finals.
The competitions were suspended back in March due to the outbreak of coronavirus, but are due to be concluded next month.
A number of decisions need to be made, however, such as where the second-leg of last-16 ties will be played.
Clubs would naturally prefer to play matches at their own grounds, but factors such as travel restrictions and quarantine rules may have an impact on that.
Uefa were holding further talks on the subject today, while discussions over medical protocols at the remaining matches were also taking place ahead of Friday’s draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League and Europa League.
Those matches, along with the semi-finals and finals, will be played in host cities.
The Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final will be played as a final eight straight knock-out tournament at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica and the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon between August 12 and 23.
The remaining last-16 second-leg matches will be played on the August 7/8, pending a decision on whether they will take place at the home team’s stadiums or in Portugal.
The Europa League quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final will be played as a final eight straight knock-out tournament in Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen between August 10 and 21.
A decision needs to be made on whether the last-16 matches for which the first leg has already been played will be staged at the home team’s venue or in Germany.
The matches of Inter Milan v Getafe and Sevilla v Roma, whose first leg were also postponed, will be played as a single leg at a venue to be confirmed.
There has been talk of fans being able to attend those matches in Germany and Portugal, but that will be down to approval from the governments of those two countries.
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