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UEFA set to hand Celtic Champions League boost

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UEFA are set to drop their opposition to leagues declaring that their season is over and paying out on current positions.

When Belgium announced their intention to pay out with Club Brugge as champions it sparked a flurry of comment from UEFA.

Chief among them was the threat that Champions League and Europa League participation would be under threat if domestic leagues and associations were declared early.

Scotland appears to be uniting with other medium sized nations like Belgium and Holland to resist UEFA sanctions leading to direct contact between Ajax and UEFA HQ.

After reaching the semi-final of the 2019 Champions League Ajax have a high profile with former keeper Edwin van der Sar now chief executive of the Dutch side.

UEFA meet again on Thursday, between the lines it looks like the SFA and SPFL will be given discretion to make their own call on how the season is ended.

The Sun reports:

Ajax chief van der Sar has revealed he’s held discussions with UEFA and they have eased their hardline stance on so-called lesser leagues like Scotland, Holland and Belgium.

That could pave the way for Celtic to be named champions of Scotland as early as next Thursday, now the SPFL resolution giving the board the power to call the league early on average points won has controversially been given the assent of the clubs.

Premier League clubs in England met yesterday to re-confirm their intention to get the season played to a finish, although it remains unclear precisely when matches will be able to return – even behind closed doors.

Van der Sar said: “I’ve spoken to UEFA a lot and the relationship between us now is good, despite us making clear we want to end the Eredivisie immediately so clubs can get paid out.

“I believe UEFA’s position on medium and smaller leagues has changed. Certainly, I no longer believe there will be any possibility of possible sanctions that would exclude teams from European football next season.

“Throughout this, we have been in close contact with UEFA, the European Clubs’ Association and of course all the other teams from our league and there is a growing belief everything will be decided next week.”

After 25 of 34 rounds of fixtures in the Dutch league Ajax are ahead of AZ on goal difference. In Scotland Celtic are 13 points clear after 30 of the 38 rounds of fixtures.

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