No 2020 Ballon d’Or
Some fans look forward every year to players winning trophies. However, this year has caused a major shift in sports. This has resulted in there being no 2020 Ballon d’Or.
France Football decided against awarding a player with the Ballon d’Or this year. The pandemic has caused “exceptional circumstances” that results in no award this year.
For the first time since 1956, there is no Ballon d’Or being given. According to the editor-in-chief, Pascal Ferre, it is no ordinary year. The season has become majorly unbalanced.
France’s league, Ligue 1, was the only major league to cancel the rest of the season. While many others like Bundesliga and Premier League resumed after three months. Since the players for French teams are not able to continue competing for the award, it has been canceled this year.
“From a sports perspective, two months (January and February), out of the eleven generally required to form an opinion and decide who should lift the trophies, represent far too little to gauge and judge; without forgetting that the other games were played – or will be played – in unordinary conditions (behind closed doors, with five replacements, Champions League’s Final 8 played in a single game),” Ferre said.
“Finally, the equity that prevails for this honorary title will not be warranted, especially when it comes to accounting and preparation: all the award seekers will not be in the same boat, some having seen their season cut short. Therefore, how can we establish a fair comparison? To avoid overly convoluted calculations and projections, we chose the least bad of the options.
“This decision, which was taken of course with all the Group stakeholders, does not delight us but it seems to be the most responsible one. Protecting the credibility and legitimacy of such an award also means ensuring its flawlessness over time.
“The Ballon d’Or will gather again the football big family and enthusiasts in 2021, to relive the happiness that surrounds the ceremonies as we have experienced them in recent years.”
Many were excited to see who would win this year. Lionel Messi won his sixth Ballon d’Or last year. Cristiano Ronaldo sits with five of them. They had a twelve-year fight for the award until 2018. Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or and stopped the continual fight between Messi and Ronaldo.
We will just have to wait until next year to see if Ronaldo will tie up the score again.
