UEFA chief defends decision to play internationals in September

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - UEFA Executive Committee Press Conference - Nyon, Switzerland - June 17, 2020 UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin during a press conference following the UEFA Executive Committee meeting at the UEFA headquarters UEFA Pool/Handout via REUTERS

BERN (Reuters) - UEFA's decision to allocate a window for international matches in September was made to prevent the coronavirus stoppage causing further damage to national team football, its president Aleksander Ceferin said on Thursday.

Ceferin appeared to be responding to comments from Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who said he would prefer September to be free of internationals so players can recover from the late end to the 2019-20 club season.