The Premier League would have the option of selecting clubs for next season’s European club competitions if the 2019/20 campaign is prematurely terminated.

UEFA announced on Thursday that, should a domestic league or cup be curtailed, the national association in question would have the responsibility of picking teams for the Champions League and Europa League “based on sporting merit in the 2019/20 domestic competitions”.

The Premier League, of course, intend to see the current season through to its climax if at all possible, so we may not even reach that point.

However, should the coronavirus pandemic make a resumption unworkable, then the governing body of the English top-flight would face the unenviable task of hand-selecting their representatives for the 2020/21 Champions League and Europa League.

Freezing the league as it stands or working out points-per-match averages are two possible options, should the worst-case scenario happen.

Using the current five-year UEFA coefficients was another alternative presented by the Spanish FA (the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal would be the winners there, should City’s ban be overturned) but the European powers-that-be are keen on 2019/20 performances specifically being rewarded, even if a league or cup is terminated.

Thursday’s meeting was the third and final one of this week, with UEFA’s Executive Committee running the rule over various proposals and reports from working groups.

While reiterating their desire to see ongoing domestic leagues and cups completed, UEFA did acknowledge that some associations would “have legitimate reasons to prematurely terminate” their competitions.

Two such “legitimate reasons” were cited.

One was financial, with UEFA recognising cases where “insurmountable economic problems” would put competitions and/or clubs at risk of ruin.

The other was the existence of an official order prohibiting sports events for a lengthy period, something a national government would likely issue.

The Scottish Premiership could be the next to go the way of Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League in being called off, then, after UEFA pretty much cleared a path for the likes of Celtic to be involved in European club competition in 2020/21.

The Eredivisie may follow suit, with the Dutch government having banned major sporting events until September.

There was another line to emerge from today’s statement that could be pertinent if the Premier League is ever in a position to restart but finds itself short on time.

UEFA said that, should a full season resumption not be possible due to calendar issues, suspended domestic competitions could restart with “a different format in a manner which would still facilitate clubs to qualify on sporting merit”.

In simpler terms, that could perhaps entail play-offs or head-to-head games.

Elsewhere, UEFA’s “calendar working group” outlined two scenarios for this season’s Champions League and Europa League.

One option is to run the two European club competitions in parallel with the domestic campaign, with the other seeing the Champions League and Europa League completed in August after everything else has been resolved.

The next meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee is scheduled for May 27 and today’s statement can be read in full here.