PARIS, France (AFP) — The Belgian football league has recommended that the current season be declared finished early due to the coronavirus pandemic with the present table accepted as final, it said yesterday, becoming the first European league to take such a measure.

The decision is set to be formally validated at a General Assembly on April 15, meaning that Club Brugge would be declared champions as they currently sit 15 points clear of Gent at the top of the table.

In a statement, the Belgian Pro League said it was “very unlikely” to be able to hold matches in front of crowds before June 30 and that it had “unanimously decided that it was not desirable…to continue the competition” after that date.

Matches behind closed doors were “theoretically possible”, but the league said it preferred not to put more pressure on health services and police in the circumstances. It therefore agreed not to restart the season and “accept the current league table as final”.

Belgium – whose national team top the FIFA world rankings – would become the first European league to take such a measure due to the ongoing health crisis, which saw football across the continent grind to a complete halt in the middle of March.

The number of deaths attributed to coronavirus in Belgium passed the 1,000 mark on yesterday, health officials said, with 15,348 officially recorded cases.

The country has imposed a similar national lockdown to those in its European neighbours, with restaurants, bars and non-essential firms shut, school suspended and public events banned. Per capita Belgium is among the worst hit countries in Europe.

The Belgian season stopped with one round of games remaining in the 30-match regular season.

The Belgian league’s own broadcast deal is far less lucrative than those of its larger European neighbours. According to Belgian media, the current contract due to expire this season is worth 82.5 million euros ($89.5m) per year.

Jamaicans defender Kemar Lawrence (RSC Anderlecht) and striker Shamar Nichololson (Charleroi SC), who are in Belgium, ply their trade in the country’s topflight.