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The handball Champions League has changed the rules for the remainder of the season, but FC Porto is not affected by the changes.
The European Handball Federation (EHF) presented this Wednesday an emergency plan to save the season, given the various travel limitations of the teams, due to the covid-19 pandemic, and announced that all teams involved in the phase of groups go to the round of 16.
With the change, the eight teams in each of the two groups advance, which was not the case in the previous format. So far, the last two of each group were on their way, the first two were going straight to the “quarters” and the remaining eight were playing in the play-offs for the remaining places.
FC Porto, currently fifth in Group A, after the 32-20 defeat in Poland with Kielce, is one of the teams that does not see expectations disappointed, and if the ratings did not change further, they would play in the next round. with the Danes from Aalborg, fourth in Group B.
The teams that fight for the first place in each group lose with the decision, in terms of sporting expectations: instead of going directly to the quarter-finals of the race, they start facing the seventh or last classified of the other group.
The EHF decision covers not only the Men’s Champions League, but also the Women’s Championships, which were due to end on the weekend, but is already nine matches late. Teams deemed responsible for failing to reschedule matches on time are penalized with a 10-0 loss.
In the men’s Champions League, the EHF still believes that the groups will be able to close the calendar of this phase until March 4, including the dispute of six defeated games.
FC Porto, who play the Hungarians from MOL-Pick Szeged on Thursday, no longer have a mathematical chance of reaching the top two places.
The Round of 16 (with the first in one group playing last in another, and so on) are played on March 6 and 7 and March 13 and 14. The Final Four also has a date and place: May 29 and 30, in Budapest.
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