Italian Football Federation President Will Ask UEFA to 'Delay' Euro 2020

Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina wants UEFA to postpone this summer's Euro 2020 international tournament to help provide time for the Serie A season to be completed.

Football in Italy's top flight, along with the lower divisions, is suspended as part of the country's response to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Leagues across Europe and around the globe have followed suit, with Spain's La Liga and the Premier League in England among those brought to a halt.

Fulfilling the remaining fixtures on the domestic calendar remains Gravina's concern. He told SportMediaset (h/t Reuters, via Sky Sports): "We will propose to UEFA the delay of the European Championships. We will try to get to the end of this [domestic] championship because it is fairer and more correct after the many investments and sacrifices of our clubs."

What's next for top leagues on the continent will be discussed during a UEFA-led conference call on Tuesday. The status of Euro 2020 will likely dominate the agenda, with the makeup of this year's tournament posing several challenges to countries attempting to deal with the spread of the virus, a situation the World Health Organisation has classed as a pandemic.

A prominent issue is how matches for Euro 2020 are scheduled to take place within 12 different countries. The competition is slated to begin in the Italian capital Rome on Friday, June 12, before drawing to a close once the final has been played at London's Wembley Stadium on Wednesday, July 8.

Both Italy and England are among the 144 countries where patients have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, with more than 152,400 cases recorded globally, according to information from the WHO (h/t CNN).

Serie A and Premier League football is on hold until at least April 3 and April 4, respectively. It means each league faces tricky decisions about what form they will take if their seasons can eventually be completed.

Gravina has set June 30 as one possible end date should Serie A resume, although he conceded an additional month could also be needed. Pushing Euro 2020 would allow the club game to meet its commitments in different countries.

Moving the tournament is the most likely outcome, per German channel ZDF (h/t Goal):

How issues such as the title race and relegation would play out have to be settled on before any idea to resume games can go ahead sensibly. Juventus moved one point clear of Lazio at the top of the table before the stoppage, while Lecce, SPAL and Brescia are in the bottom three.

Lega Pro President Francesco Ghirelli had discussed how a play-off format could be used, per Football Italia. Other options would include not awarding the Scudetto crown to any team.