Marseille will not host the Heineken Champions Cup or Challenge Cup Finals in 2020.
European professional club rugby and local organisers will not stage the matches at the Stade Velodrome due to uncertainties around the coronavirus pandemic.
With tens of thousands of fans scheduled to travel to the south of France, the Board of EPCR and the local organising committee have agreed that insufficient safeguards are currently in place during the public health crisis to stage two high-profile matches at the 67,000-capacity Stade Vélodrome.
A new venue or venues will be determined in due course, with the finals scheduled for the week-ending October 18.
Tournament favourites Leinster have a quarter final with Saracens, with Ulster to face Toulouse. These games are set for the week-ending September 20.
As part of this adjustment to its future planning, EPCR is pleased to announce that Marseille will now host the 2021 Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals at the Stade Vélodrome on the weekend of 21/22 May, and that the matches at the 62,000-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London will be rescheduled for 2022.
2020 EPCR dates
Quarter-finals: weekend of 18/19/20 September
Semi-finals: weekend of 25/26/27 September
Heineken Champions Cup final: weekend of 16/17/18 October (venue TBC)
Challenge Cup final: weekend of 16/17/18 October (venue TBC)
Start of 2020/21 season: weekend of 11/12/13 December
