April 21, 2020 – There are still 10 rounds to be played in the Croatian First League. The Croatian Football Federation announced that football would not resume in the first proposed calendar term.
The Croatian Football Federation on Monday announced that the competition in the Croatian First League would not continue until at least May 16.
“The Croatian Football Federation continuously monitors the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and respects all decisions of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia.
Following the new decisions of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia and extension of the measures until May 4, 2020, HNS decided that the continuation of the competition in the First HNL will not start on May 16, which was the first of three scheduled dates for the continuation of the competition.
Given the unpredictability of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the HNS will continue to cooperate and follow the instructions of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia and make decisions in accordance with the epidemiological situation in Croatia, and will inform all its members, the media and the public in a timely manner,” HNS said in a statement.
The Croatian First League competition was terminated on March 12 after 26 rounds were played. The remaining options to continue the competition are May 30 and June 13.
Recall, the Executive Board of the Croatian Football Federation adopted changes to the competition calendar in the 1st and 2nd Croatian League and Croatian Cup, taking into account the current COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the recommendation of UEFA, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) management has considered all the options in the calendar to allow a successful end to the competition year. Considering that the further course of the coronavirus pandemic is unpredictable, the HNS Executive Board has adopted three calendar options for the Croatian First League, Second League, and Croatian Cup competitions.
HNS has been in communication with the Central State Office for Sport on this subject, which is aware of and agrees with the decisions cited here.
Depending on the epidemiological situation in Croatia and the decisions of the competent authorities, the Executive Board will, by a specific decision, determine which version of the competition calendar change will apply.
In addition, the Olympic Committee has set deadlines by which it will announce a possibly selected version of the decision:
Option 1
1st HNL Competition Starts: May 16, 2020
2nd HNL Competition Starts: May 23, 2020
Completion of the 1st HNL and 2nd HNL Competition: July 18, 2020
Deadline: April 20, 2020
Option 2
1st HNL and 2nd HNL Competition Starts: May 30, 2020
Completion of the 1st HNL and 2nd HNL Competition: July 25, 2020
Deadline: May 4, 2020
Option 3
1st HNL and 2nd HNL Competition Starts: June 13, 2020
Completion of the 1st HNL Competition: August 2, 2020
Completion of 2nd HNL Competition: 1st August 2020
Deadline: May 18, 2020
By the end of the championship, 10 more rounds should be played, and at the moment the league was interrupted, Dinamo led in in the standings with 65 points, Rijeka is in second with 47, Lokomotiva in third with 46, and Hajduk in fourth with. 45. At the bottom is Istria 1961 with 19 points and Inter and Varazdin with 17 points.
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