Belgian FA seeks UEFA approval before ending season early

The Belgian FA is seeking UEFA approval before ending the Pro League season prematurely to avoid exclusion from European competition.

It was announced on Thursday that the Pro League's board of directors had recommended the season finish early - a decision which would see Club Brugge handed the title - but the the proposal still needed to be endorsed at a general assembly meeting on April 15.

Also on Thursday, UEFA urged European leagues not to abandon their seasons, revealing they aim to resume matches in July, and threatened a ban from European competition for those who take such measures.

The Belgian FA responded to UEFA, telling European football's governing body they would not be forced into completing their season following discussions on Friday.

However, after further "constructive discussions" between UEFA president Aleksandr Ceferin and head of the Belgian FA Mehdi Bayat, the two bodies have come to a "joint decision".

It means the recommendation from the Pro League's board of directors will be presented to UEFA's executive committee, before being endorsed at a general assembly meeting with the purpose of preserving "the spots for Belgian teams in the European competitions for the 2020-2021 season".

The statement from the Belgian FA said: "On Thursday, the Board of Directors of the Pro League unanimously decided it was not desirable to continue the competition after 30 June.

"This was then formulated as a unanimous recommendation, addressed to its General Assembly, to not resume the Jupiler Pro League for the 2019-2020 season. This has since resulted in many statements.

"It is in this context that a discussion was held last evening between UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and RBFA President Mehdi Bayat.

"This discussion was constructive and the intention was expressed to come to a joint solution.

"As part of this, the recommendation to stop the competition, as formulated by the Board of Directors of the Pro League, will be presented to the Executive Committee of UEFA.

"This proposal will be submitted for approval to the General Assembly of the Pro League.

"The purpose of this is to preserve the spots for Belgian teams in the European competitions for the 2020-2021 season. Furthermore, the RBFA would like to express, once again, its support for the process of UEFA to have a unified approach to get through this corona crisis.

"The RBFA will not make any further remarks on this subject at this time."