Tottenham's Champions League hopes received a blow on Thursday as Uefa confirmed their guidelines for awarding places next season.
While insisting every league should "explore all possible options" to continue their respective seasons, Uefa stated Champions League and Europa League places will be awarded on "sporting merit" should that become impossible.
Football in England is currently suspended indefinitely, but the Premier League are still determined to finish the season by July 31.
If a restart is not possible, however, Tottenham - who sat in eighth place when the season was suspended - face the prospect of missing out on Champions League football next term, with a system based on points per game rumoured to be one potential solution.
Prior to Uefa's most recent call, there had been some hope for Tottenham, after suggestions that qualifications for next season's Champions League could be based on each club's coefficient ranking, which is determined by their year-on-year European performance.
Tottenham's ranking would have placed them above the likes of Chelsea, Leicester City and Manchester United after their historic run to the final last season.
