Not true, I would think that the only the teams in the final, and their league opponents, would get the bye. The Final can be arranged at an hour when the league games end, or maybe hold it on a Friday night. I like this idea since it can get more viewers around the globe, mostly people in N. America who can't watch it live because of work. I would also like to see the UEFA SuperCup being played after the two finals, when the teams are still the same players and still in form.
The CL final is usually played in the midweek after the FA Cup final. If they move the CL to the weekend, it will either clash with the FA Cup, or shorten the summer break by a few more days. Many people wouldn't care if the SuperCup was scrapped altogether. It was originally between the winners of the Uefa cup and the Cup Winners Cup, which used to be even. Now the CL is so much bigger than the Uefa Cup it's pointless.
It was orginally the European Cup winners against Cup Winners Cup winners. Since it became UEFA winners vs Champions League winners, the UEFA winners have won 4 times and the Champions League winners four times.
That wouldn't work very well. It's too late in the season to give out byes. There's no time to make the matches up. The only solution would be for all the leagues in Europe to schedule an off weekend. You must really have a shit job if you can't take 1/2 day off once a year. Anyway, nobody watches CL in North America, so that's not even an issue. But moving it to the weekend would benefit all the travelling supporters in Europe.
Wasnt it last year or the year before that a Seville league match at the end of the season got a bump because of their Uefa cup match?? Its been done before and by that time most leagues are already done. Weekend is a great idea, you have a week to build up the game and let visitors soak up the environment. Every year there are dozens of articles about how writers and fans are soaking up the atmosphere. Why not extend it, the more fun it is for the fans the better.
I'm curious what the ratings are in NA for Champions League? Admittedly, I don't follow the early round matches closely, preferring to save my off-work viewing for the quarter-finals onward. However, on any given day in my Chicago neighborhood, if you walk outside you'll see as many as 5 people wearing Football replica shirts as for every 1 baseball or gridiron shirt. The greater availability of quality football on television is growing that fan base in the U.S. quickly. From the U.S. sports media's perspective, Champions League is almost invisible. For a U.S.-based fan, however, it has a benefit...it's easier to avoid the scores until you can watch the match on DVR, tape, etc. I would welcome a change that would help more supporters (vs. VIP giveaways) attend the final. Personally, the CL final mid-week outing is something I look forward to like a baseball fan anticipates and celebrates opening day. Final thought, the summer break is too short as it is, which is another argument for keeping the mid-week match, IMHO.