UEFA to discuss Champions League fate in Wednesday meeting

Soccer - UEFA’s football advisor Luis Figo attends an event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - May 1, 2019 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) football advisor and former footballer Luis Figo poses with the Champions League trophy in Rio de Janeiro REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

UEFA will discuss the fate of this season's Champions League and its other competitions that have been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in a video conference meeting on Wednesday, European soccer's governing body said in a statement.

All UEFA competitions have been halted because of the flu-like virus that has killed around 34,000 people, while this year's European Championship has been pushed back to 2021.

"UEFA has invited the general secretaries of its 55 member associations to a video conference on Wednesday, April 1... to discuss options identified with regards to the potential rescheduling of matches," UEFA said.

Soccer Football - Champions League Final - Real Madrid v Liverpool - NSC Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine - May 26, 2018 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp collects his medal from UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin as he walks past the trophy after the match REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Player transfers and contracts will also be discussed at the meeting, it added.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said over the weekend that the current season could be lost if it is unable to re-start by the end of June, although he did not rule out extending it into the next season.

(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)