Aviva Stadium could host UK teams in Champions League action next week after Queen’s death

As football authorities in the UK prepare to make a call on whether the scheduled league programme will go ahead, with an expectation that all matches will be called, off, there have also been discussions at UEFA level over how to carry on with the proposed schedule.

Manchester United and Arsenal's games in the Europa League last night went ahead, after news broke of the Queen's death, though black armbands were worn.

If, as expected, the Premier League and Football League opt to postpone games for the initial phase of a period of national mourning in the UK, the decision could be made to postpone all sporting activity in Britain next week.

Liverpool, Manchester City and Rangers all have home fixtures in the Champions League next week, but UEFA would insist on the matches going ahead to meet TV contracts and also avoid a fixture backlog in a season which is already disrupted by the Qatar World Cup.

That could see Liverpool (v Ajax), Rangers (v Napoli) on Tuesday and Chelsea (v Red Bull Salzburg) and Manchester City (v Borussia Dortmund) forced to find alternative venues, outside the UK, for their home ties.

And the Aviva Stadium's track record of already hosting a major final, the 2010 Europa League final and its approval for hosting games at Euro 2020, before Covid 19 put an end to that plan, may open the possibility of games being moved to the Dublin venue.