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Switzerland or Ukraine? Who will be relegated to the Nations League shouldn’t be clear for a while. Image: keystone
Switzerland vs. Ukraine: UEFA may take time to decide on qualification
What many feared has happened: The League of Nations match between Switzerland and Ukraine has definitely been canceled due to Corona. Questions and answers about the last game of the year that did not take place.
Switzerland against Ukraine, everything is ready for the confrontation to remain in the highest division of the Nations League. But then everything turns out differently, it becomes a day of long waiting. In the end there is only one certainty: the international match between Switzerland and Ukraine has been canceled. There is no football match in Lucerne. And the wait is not over yet. Questions and answers about Nati’s crime thriller, which could still run for a few weeks.
What happened on tuesday
The morning starts out as normal as it can be in these times. The Swiss delegation receives advance notification that its corona tests have come back negative. National coach Valdimir Petkovic and Nati manager Pierluigi Tami are relieved. “Congratulations everyone,” Tami will say later. “It shows that we have done everything possible to be prepared for this final.”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainians are heading for their final training. They prepare for the evening at the Tribschen sports ground, where FC Kickers Luzern usually play in the 2nd interregional league. They must meet strict requirements for this, they are not allowed to use the changing rooms. After all, it is still uncertain whether there will be more crown cases in their ranks.
Ukraine’s training at the Tribschen sports field. image: reader image
Why was the game definitely canceled and not postponed?
When Pierluigi Tami prepared the events for the day into the evening, he said quite quickly: “We wish we had started. We really wanted this game. And we also wish we could postpone the game. “
The problem: The only remaining date would have been this Wednesday. But the Ukrainians would have had to fly in a new, healthy team that would have consisted of at least 13 players, and the U20 or U21 youth would have been a problem. But they really showed no interest in this variant and decided not to. “I think they were not particularly interested in such a solution,” says Tami.
A later catch-up date is practically impossible because the soccer calendar is full until the next national team break in March, when Switzerland has to play three World Cup qualifying matches.
Is it possible that some Ukrainians have come out of quarantine with a negative test?
No. Canton doctor Roger Harstall made it clear: “I have ordered the quarantine for ten days. Nothing will change about that. “In theory, Harstall could have done it on Monday because Ukraine already had three positive corona cases after the game in Germany over the weekend. But Harstall decided to retest the Ukrainians.
Conversely, that means: you left a back door open for them. And if there had been no other positive cases, they would have allowed the international match against Switzerland.
Roger Harstall explains why he quarantined Ukraine. Image: keystone
Will Switzerland win the game for now?
The UEFA Disciplinary Committee has to find an answer to this question. On paper, it is relatively clear who caused the cancellation because the bubble did not function according to UEFA’s return to play protocol: Ukraine. “In fact, it’s very simple: we were ready to play, but there was an opponent missing.” That’s what Tami says. And yet you know it could be much more complicated.
How is Ukraine trying to win at the green table?
With this starting position, it would be obvious that Switzerland would win 3-0 by pass. But perhaps Ukraine is now about to begin its legal power game. Trying to convince UEFA that Switzerland was to blame for the cancellation of the match. Because it was the Swiss authorities that prohibited their players who tested negative from participating in the international match.
Ukraine will certainly not be relegated voluntarily. Image: keystone
If UEFA concludes that no federation is to blame for the cancellation, the lot would decide the outcome of the match (1-0, 0-0 or 0-1), with Switzerland only 33.33 percent in the The first floor of the Nations League remains. Tami says: “We cannot estimate how UEFA will decide. We are sad that the decision is not made on the pitch. “
Is there a similar case?
Yes, at the start of the season in the Champions League standings. The Slovaks from Slovan Bratislava had to play Klaksvik in the Faroe Islands. Because Bratislava has a positive corona case, the Faroese authorities decide: 14-day quarantine or immediate departure.
Initially, the game will be postponed for two days. Unlike the Ukrainians, Bratislava tries to play with young players. But as soon as there are two crown cases, the game will be canceled. And UEFA decides: Victory pass for Klaksvik, the Faroese team, even though it was their own authority that banned the game. The Slovaks appeal, but the UEFA judges uphold the verdict.
YB showed no weaknesses against Klaksvik. Image: keystone
And yet there is a difference in the Switzerland-Ukraine case: the rules of the Champions League and the League of Nations are not exactly the same. In the case of the Champions League, there is an addition of Covid-19. This is missing in the League of Nations.
Do Ukrainians have to go through quarantine in Switzerland?
No, the delegation can leave. However, this under the strictest conditions. Media: Ukraine has to get out of the “bubble”. You must travel in your own chartered plane. And you can’t have contact with anyone at customs.
What does national coach Vladimir Petkovic say?
The national coach spoke in the late afternoon: “We are footballers and we always want to win on the field. Unfortunately, we no longer have this option. We were really looking forward to this game. Unfortunately, things have turned out differently now, we cannot influence that. “
With a victory on the field, Petkovic was keen to recharge his batteries for the New Year. For the first time under his command, an international season ended without a victory. For Tami, however, the balance seems attractive. “Yes, we have seen that it is not enough against the greats. But the development is good. “
The players had dinner together last night and then said goodbye to their clubs or families. But now that the wait really begins, the new world rankings will come out on November 27, even if nothing changes for Switzerland and the division in the World Cup draws.
