Sporting merit looks set to be decisive in how places in next season's European competitions are awarded where a league has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The UEFA executive committee has concluded and the PA news agency understands domestic on-field performance up to the point of suspension will be the guiding principle used in competitions that cannot be completed.
European football's governing body is set to release guidelines later on Thursday on how to handle "special cases" where leagues cannot be completed, but it remains UEFA's "strong recommendation" that competitions are played to a finish wherever possible.
How sporting merit will be defined is not yet clear, but may be a system based on points per game.
