UEFA president offers Leeds United hope with words on Liverpool

Marcelo Bielsa's Whites sit top of the Championship and with a seven-point cushion in the division's automatic promotion spots with just nine games left.

Football, though, was immediately placed on hold over the second full weekend in March as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi both tested positive for coronavirus.

Nearly one month on, the country is on lockdown with strict social distancing measures with both the Premier League and EFL seasons having been indefinitely suspended.

With no real way of knowing just how long restrictions will remain in place in the global fight against COVID-19, there have been calls in some quarters for the current season to be scrapped and declared null and void.

Ceferin, though, has hinted that in the event of seasons being abandoned, careful consideration would have to be given to find a way to resolve positions with the president admitting it would be impossible to deny Liverpool the Premier League title.

Jurgen Klopp's Reds are in a similar boat to Bielsa's Whites, albeit in a far stronger position with a 25-point lead at the top of the Premier League and needing just two more wins to seal a first English league crown in 30 years.

"There is no way Liverpool could end without the title," said Ceferin, speaking to Slovenian sports daily Ekipa.

"If the matches are played, then they will almost certainly win it - theoretically, they still haven't earned the title but they almost certainly will.

"In case the matches cannot be played, we will need to find a way.

"And, once again, I see no scenario according to which Liverpool would not be the winners.

"I realise fans might be disappointed if the match is played in an empty stadium or even if it is resolved around a table, but I believe that one way or another they will win the title."

Asked if he thought fixtures could be resumed this summer allowing league campaigns to be concluded, Ceferin said: "I'm an optimist.

"Of course, there is nothing I can guarantee or promise. It all depends of the situation in those countries, it will all depend on whether the circumstances will be safe enough so that by playing football nobody will be put in danger."

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