Coronavirus has brought European football to a halt. The viral infection sweeping across the world has reportedly, according to Marca, forced UEFA to suspend both the Champions League and the Europa League indefinitely. This decision comes after positive coronavirus tests for Juventus’s Daniele Rugani and a Real Madrid Basketball player.
Coronavirus Forces UEFA to Halt Champions League and Europa League
It has been a crazy 24 hours in the sports world. Beginning with the postponement of yesterday’s Arsenal v Manchester City game, five major football competitions have been postponed since Wednesday morning.
Things got very serious late last night when Juventus announced Daniele Rugani’s positive test. The test forced both Juventus and Inter Milan into self-isolation, cancelling training and games for a minimum of two weeks.
This morning, everyone awoke to the news that a Real Madrid basketball player has tested positive for Coronavirus. His positive test has forced the entire club into quarantine and prompted La Liga to postpone all first and second division Spanish football for two weeks.
Finally, MARCA is reporting that UEFA are set to suspend the Champions League and Europa League. So far, UEFA had let local governments decide how games would be played, which allowed games like Paris Saint-Germain v Borussia Dortmund to go behind closed doors while Liverpool hosted a full house at Anfield against Atletico Madrid.
Obviously, it’s still unclear how long games will be suspended fpr. The Italian government and Serie A has set the re-evaluation date for April 3, while some of the other leagues and countries have said they will re-evaluate the situation in two weeks.
It’s worth noting that so far, the Premier League and Bundesliga are yet to announce what will be happening for their upcoming fixtures this weekend. It is thought that a decision on English football in both the top flight and the EFL will be made by Friday afternoon.
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