Dutch soccer season canceled, Ajax denied title due to COVID-19

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The Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch soccer, has canceled its 2019-20 season and will not award the league title after the national government banned major events until Sept. 1 due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Ajax were in first place when the campaign was halted, level on 56 points with AZ Alkmaar but ahead thanks to their superior goal difference.

No teams will be relegated to the second tier, with promotion from that division also scrapped for the year.

The Eredivisie is the first European league to declare its season void amid the pandemic. The Belgian Pro League said at the start of April it would take the same course of action, but that decision has since been delayed.

"Unfortunately, with the cabinet's most recent coronavirus measures, it has become impossible to play out the 2019-2020 season of professional football leagues in time," read a statement from the Dutch Football Association, according to ESPN.

"It will be crystal clear to everyone involved, from supporters and players to directors and referees, that public health always comes first; the decisions made today about the settlement of the running competitions are only a football problem in the perspective of what the coronavirus causes in society.

"Nevertheless, the professional football board is aware that today's decisions will cause great disappointment in football for some."

Both Ajax and AZ Alkmaar will proceed to the Champions League qualifying stages, assuming UEFA ratifies that decision. Third-place Feyenoord, meanwhile, will qualify for the Europa League group stages.

At the other end of the table, the decision offers reprieves for RKC Waalwijk and ADO Den Haag, who were both in line for relegation. Cambuur and De Graafschap, who were on the verge of promotion from the second tier, will remain there for the 2020-21 campaign.