Today’s back pages: Uefa decision is good news for Liverpool

Are we the champions?

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp adorns the back page of The Daily Telegraph after Uefa’s decision that qualification for next season’s European competitions has to be based on “sporting merit”.

The Daily Mirror says that in making its decision, Uefa has “effectively taken the possibility of a null and void Premier League season off the table”, which it believes is good news for Liverpool.

Why? Because it means that should it not be possible to complete the 2019-20 season, then Liverpool will be crowned champions as they were top of the table when sport went into shutdown.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

That also means, of course, they will qualify for next season’s Champions League along with Leicester City, Chelsea and Manchester City. However, with City banned from European competition next season due to financial fair play irregularities, their place would be taken by Manchester United.

Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers would qualify for the Europa League, and if a points-per-game rule is applied then Arsenal would also do so ahead of Tottenham.

British sport faces bankruptcy the longer the lockdown lasts

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Dier in the dock

The Times has a picture of Eric Dier on its back page and it’s one that has landed the Spurs and England star in hot water.

The photo shows Dier clambering over the seats to confront a fan who allegedly was abusing his brother, but whatever the reasons for entering the stands at the end of Tottenham’s FA Cup defeat to Norwich in March the Football Association (FA) aren’t impressed.

The FA said: “Eric Dier has been charged with misconduct for a breach of FA Rule E3. It is alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s actions were improper and/or threatening.”

Dier, who was led away by stewards before he could get close to the fan, has until 8 May to respond.

Cricket in crisis

The Daily Mail’s focus is on the growing crisis within cricket, specifically the uncertainty about the launch of The Hundred.

It was hoped within the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that the competition - designed to attract a new audience to the sport - would generate revenue of £51m this year, with £6.5m coming from ticket sales, £4m in sponsorship and £4m from overseas broadcast rights. But the Mail says those projections lie in ruins after the coronavirus lockdown.

The ECB meets today to discuss the crisis and it’s expected to be announced that there will be no cricket played in the country before July at the earliest.

The Mail predicts that the launch of the Hundred could be postponed until 2021 but also questions its very future given the financial crisis that cricket finds itself in.

Today’s sport headlines

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––