England will end international friendly matches with Austria and Romania after Euro 2020 has been postponed
2020 OLYMPIC GAMES
Canceled
The Olympic torch relay in Greece was canceled on Friday, March 13 – just a day after the flame was lit in Olympia.
Large crowds defied Hollywood actor Gerard Butler as he lit the cauldron in the Greek city of Sparta on Friday, despite repeated warnings for spectators not to attend due to the corona virus.
That forced the decision of the Greek Olympic Committee to stop the torchlight procession on Greek soil on the second day of the planned eight-day trip.
The Olympic flame will be handed over to the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee on Thursday at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, but without fans. It is the only third time that a relay to Athens for the summer games has not been completed.
In doubt
Due to the magnitude of the outbreak in Japan, senior member of the International Olympic Committee, Dick Pound, described the disease as “ the new war ” that threatened Tokyo 2020 and warned that the Games may need to be canceled if the virus existed in May.
Olympic organizers told athletes to train normally without deciding on the cancellation
The Japanese government later insisted that Pound’s comments were not the IOC’s official position, but doubts remain as to whether the summer showcase could still cause health problems.
Athletes have been told to keep training, and the plan to keep the Games in Japan remains as planned, but training for approximately 80,000 volunteers has been delayed by at least two months – it would start on February 22.
On Friday March 13; President Donald Trump’s proposal to postpone the Tokyo Olympics for a year due to the spreading coronavirus was immediately shot by the Japanese Olympic minister.
“The IOC and the Organizing Committee are not considering cancellation or postponement – absolutely not,” said Seiko Hashimoto, an Olympic bronze medalist, at a news conference in Tokyo.
On Tuesday, March 17, Kozo Tashima, one of the vice presidents of the Japanese Olympic Committees and president of the Japanese Football Association, tested positive for coronavirus.
The International Olympic Committee and the organizers of Tokyo have been kept informed since the viral outbreak in China three months ago, spread across Asia and around the world, with matches scheduled to open on July 24.
ATHLETICS
Canceled
World Indoor Athletics Championships (March 13-15 in Nanjing) is out until 2021.
The World Indoor Athletics Championships in Nanjing, China, has been postponed due to concerns about the danger of the coronavirus and its spread
North Korea canceled the Pyongyang marathon scheduled for April after a border barrier was imposed due to the magnitude of the South Korea outbreak.
The Seoul Marathon is canceled to protect runners after the massive outbreak in South Korea.
The Paris Half Marathon is canceled and the French government has also decided to ban all public public gatherings of more than 5,000 people.
The London Marathon, scheduled to take place on April 26, has been postponed to October 4. More than 40,000 people would participate in the event.
The race with about 44,000 participants was scheduled for Sunday (March 1) in the French capital. Organizers said the race will be postponed to a date to be determined.
The Barcelona Marathon, scheduled for March 15, has been postponed to October to stop the spread of the corona virus, Barcelona City Hall said in a statement.
In doubt
A mixed-relay Olympic triathlon qualifying event, scheduled for Chengdu, China in May, is being moved to Valencia, pending an outbreak in Spain.
BADMINTON
Canceled
German Open (March 3-8), Vietnam Open (March 24-29) and Polish Open (March 26-29), all Olympic qualifying events, will be canceled due to ‘strict health protection’.
BOXING
Canceled
Olympic boxing qualifications held in Wuhan have been canceled by the International Olympic Committee and have now moved from March 3 to 11 in Amman
The IBF title fight between Daniele Scardina and Andrew Francillette in Milan on February 28 was postponed by Matchroom due to restrictions in Italy after the outbreak.
The Japanese Boxing Commission has canceled all fight cards scheduled for March on the advice of the government to suspend all ongoing sports matches. They are not resisted.
Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce’s Battle for England has been pushed back from April 11 to July 11
The British Boxing Board of Control announced on Tuesday March 17 that all boxing events under their jurisdiction for March will be postponed due to the corona virus.
That decision has resulted in the tough match between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce being postponed. That fight, which was framed for April 11, has been moved to July 11 at the O2 Arena.
Matchroom Boxing has also postponed all events scheduled for March and April, including Josh Kelly’s European title fight against Russian David Avanesyan (scheduled for March 28).
In doubt
Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn has said that Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight title defense against Kubrat Pulev scheduled for June 20 can be rescheduled for July.
CRICKET
Canceled
The tour of England through Sri Lanka was postponed on Friday, March 13, because of the coronavirus pandemic, with the Cricket Board of England and Wales calling “completely unknown times.”
The decision was confirmed while Joe Root’s side was in the field with Colombo’s P Sara Oval, where he fought a warm-up match for a series of two tests written off by decision makers at Lord’s.
The start of the Indian Premier League season has also been postponed to April 15. The 2020 campaign is expected to start on March 29.
On Friday, March 13, India’s ongoing one-day international series against South Africa has been postponed, while Australia’s one-day internationals against New Zealand will be played behind closed doors.
Scotland’s one-day series against the United States and the UAE has been postponed. The games are said to be played in Florida in April.
CYCLING
Canceled
Cycling’s Giro d’Italia has been canceled and the race is scheduled for May in Hungary.
In doubt
Danish cyclist Michael Morkov has been allowed to participate in the UCI UCI Track Cycling World Championships after being isolated for fear of a coronavirus outbreak.
Morkov, 34, had traveled to Berlin in February after completing the first four stages of the UAE Tour, the last two stages of which were canceled after two race officials were suspected of the disease.
Riders and staff on the UAE Tour have since been blocked, but after the Abu Dhabi Department of Health issued a statement on Saturday saying 167 tests had returned negative, the UCI said Morkov was free to race normally.
Danish cyclist Michael Morkov was tested for coronavirus after being placed in isolation
The Tour de France is in danger of being canceled. The planned start in Nice will take place in just over three months, on June 27. With the British and French governments expecting the pandemic to last through the summer, race organizers are studying alternative planning.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Canceled
This summer’s EURO 2020 tournament has been moved to the following summer (2021) following a UEFA conference on Tuesday, March 17. The postponement provides an opportunity for completion of European competitions.
Top-level English and Scottish football was suspended until April 3 at the earliest due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced on Friday, March 13.
The Football Association, the Premier League, the English Football League, the FA Women’s Super League and the FA Women’s Championship have all agreed to put an immediate end to the competition.
A joint statement by the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Professional Football League confirmed the suspension of all football north of the border until further notice.
The decisions to suspend follow that players and staff are affected by the virus, or as a precaution, individuals isolate themselves after reporting symptoms consistent with Covid-19.
The Premier League has moved to cancel matches after the global outbreak of Coronavius
The Premier League clash between Manchester City and Arsenal, scheduled for March 11, had already been postponed as a ‘precaution’ after Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis tested positive for corona virus for weeks after seeing his Greek team play at the Emirates Stadium.
On Friday, March 13, UEFA announced that all Champions League and Europa League games scheduled for next week will be postponed, as will the quarterfinals draw for both leagues.
All domestic matches at all levels are postponed by the Chinese Football Association because the season is being cut back due to the magnitude of the outbreak in China.
Asian Champions League games with Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG are postponed to April.
The start of the Korean K-League season has been postponed. The four teams in the AFC Champions League play their matches behind closed doors.
The Japanese J-League has postponed all domestic games until mid-March.
Inter Milan’s game against Sampdoria was one of four Serie A games canceled on February 22-23 due to affected regions in Italy, leading to the Prime Minister’s advice to cut off sporting events.
Inter Milan’s Europa League round of 16 first leg with Getafe was also delayed on March 11, while Roma’s flight to Spain against Seville was banned from landing before she was delayed, with Italy locked.
The Coppa Italia game between Napoli and Inter Milan on March 5 was canceled, but was postponed indefinitely. It was the 12th game postponed since the crisis started and the third with Inter.
Ludogorets players took no chances after the coronavirus outbreak in Italy
An update by Sport Minister Vincenzo Spadafora later confirmed that all Serie A matches for the weekend of March 7-8 would be played behind closed doors. And with the country locked, it was later announced that all sports, including Serie A matches, would be suspended until at least April 3 to contain the virus.
In France, it was announced on Friday, March 13, that there will be no top-level football in France in the near future, after their governing body has postponed all matches in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
In Spain, the Copa del Rey final of April 18 between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad has been postponed.
MLS has been suspended for 30 days and David Beckham’s first home game in Inter Miami has been postponed.
On Friday, March 13, the FA announced that all England games scheduled for the month would be postponed, including those of development teams. It means that England’s friendly matches with Italy and Denmark have been canceled.
Influenced
The home game of the Chinese qualifying play-off for the women’s national women’s team against South Korea for March will be switched to Sydney. The squad will be quarantined on arrival in Australia for the qualifying group stage of January due to fears of virus carriers.
Inter Milan’s Europa League game against Ludogorets on February 27 was played behind closed doors. Only TV rights holders are allowed to attend the media, as the club wants to secure the San Siro. Ludogorets players arrived in Italy with face masks.
Serie A announced that five games would be played behind closed doors on February 28 – March 1, including Juventus vs Inter Milan in Turin, a huge game between title rivals.
Ligue 1 followed with games played in empty stadiums until April 15. Clubs also have the option to play matches with only 1,000 fans.
LaLiga became the newest league banning stadium supporters after guidance from the Spanish Ministry of Health and Sport. Barcelona’s Champions League game with Napoli is also played on empty ground.
Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Olympiakos, tested positive for the coronavirus
Manchester United clash on Austrian side Lask was behind closed doors, with United handing out £ 350 to each fan to help with travel and accommodation after selling 900 tickets to the Europa League match.
Newcastle United has banned their players from shaking hands amid fears of the corona virus.
Three players of the Italian third division football club, US Pianese, have tested positive for coronavirus, the Tuscan team confirmed on Friday.
Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Nottingham Forest, tested positive for the corona virus. Both Olympiacos and Forest teams were tested and all came back negative.
In Germany, Hanover 96 defender Timo Hubers tested positive for the virus.
The Spanish final of Copa del Rey, scheduled to take place on April 18, between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, has now been postponed.
Cristiano Ronaldo went into isolation in Madeira after it was revealed that his Juventus teammate, Daniele Rugani, has coronavirus. Blaise Matuidi from Juventus also tested positive for coronavirus.
Elsewhere in Italy, Fiorentina striker Patrick Cutrone, loaned by Wolverhampton Wanderers, has tested positive for coronavirus.
In Spain, 35% of Valencia team members tested positive for coronavirus, with all cases asymptomatic.
Real Madrid’s first squad was quarantined after a member of the basketball team tested positive for Covid-19. The two teams share the same training facility.
The Football Association of Ireland has announced that all football under its jurisdiction will end until March 29.
Liverpool have announced a charity match between Reds Legends side and Barcelona Legends, which will be played in Anfield on March 28, has been postponed.
FIFA says it will postpone qualifying matches for the South American World Cup in March.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for coronavirus on March 12, putting the entire team from the first team into isolation. Gunners’ game against Brighton, scheduled for Saturday, March 14, has been postponed.
In the early hours of Friday, March 13, Chelsea announced that winger Callum Hudson-Odoi had diagnosed the disease.
The club’s first team has become self-insulated and two buildings on their training ground in Cobham have been closed. Their game against Aston Villa, scheduled for Saturday, March 14, certainly seems to be postponed.
In doubt
Israel has warned citizens to avoid all international travel, raising the question of whether supporters or players are traveling to Scotland for their Euro 2020 play-off match on March 26.
Premier League clubs will hold crisis talks on Thursday March 19 as the possibility of the season becoming incomplete becomes more and more realistic. West Ham chief Karren Brady called for the season to be declared void, while Aston Villa believes no team should be relegated.
Football organizations across England and the rest of Europe are bracing for a reported total closure of each league until September.
FORMULA ONE
Canceled
The Australian Grand Prix was called off after a member of a McLaren team got Covid-19, which led to the British team withdrawing before deciding whether to continue the race.
The announcement came hours after Lewis Hamilton said it was “shocking” that the race continued.
The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on April 19 will be postponed without deciding whether to include it again in the 2020 calendar for later in the season.
Influenced
The Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for March 20-22, is called off, as is the inaugural Vietnam Grand Prix (scheduled for April 5 in Hanoi).
The Chinese GP was canceled first and other races could still follow that lead
In doubt
There is an increasing fear that much of the Formula 1 calendar will be missed due to Covid-19. The iconic Monaco Grand Prix can be postponed with F1 leaders looking to take action again on June 7.
GOLF
Canceled
The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific golf championship, scheduled for February 12-15 in Thailand, has been postponed and moved to October.
The Honda LPGA Thailand event in Pattaya, Thailand scheduled for February 20-23, along with the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore scheduled for February 27, were both delayed
The PGA Tour Series-China has postponed two qualifying tournaments and postponed the start of the 2020 campaign by two months, reducing the number of regular season events from 14 to 10.
The Masters has been postponed for the first time since World War II
It was decided to cancel the LPGA Blue Bay tournament in China, with the event on Hainan Island (scheduled for March 5) to be considered dangerous to players’ health
The European Tour has postponed the Maybank Championship (April 16-19 in Kuala Lumpur) and Volvo China Open (April 23-26 in Shenzhen).
After deciding to play without spectators from the second round of the Players Championship, the PGA Tour canceled the event entirely after the first round on Thursday, March 12.
They also dropped their next three events, meaning there will be no PGA Tour events prior to the first major of the year, The Masters, in April. On Friday, March 13, the prestigious Augusta tournament was also postponed.
In a statement released online, Fred Ridley, president of Augusta National Golf Club, emphasized that decision-makers hope to hold the prestigious tournament “at a later date.”
The first major men’s championship of the year is expected to begin in Georgia on April 9, but has been suspended due to the escalating pandemic.
Influenced
Lorenzo Gagli and Edoardo Molinari were withdrawn from the Oman Open for medical reasons after Gagli showed symptoms of the virus. He shared a hotel room with Molinari and was told to isolate himself. They were later placed back into the tournament after being tested negative for the virus.
HORSE RACING
Canceled
The Grand National was canceled due to new government restrictions to combat the spread of the coronavirus, making it impossible to stage the Aintree showpiece on April 4.
Influenced
The Japan Racing Association has revealed that “government-approved races” will take place behind closed doors.
Monday’s spring card and Wednesday’s competition at the Flat in Compiegne will have no paying customers, with the order from the city’s mayor and the president of the Compiegne Racing Society.
Racing in Ireland will take place until March 29 behind closed doors.
The Dubai World Cup meeting will take place on March 28 ‘without paid hospitality spectators’.
The Cheltenham Festival continued despite the travel interruption caused by the virus
RUGBY
Canceled
This year’s Six Nations will have to wait for completion as all games have been postponed due to the corona virus.
England’s game with Italy and Ireland’s journey to France had been called off early, while Wales and Scotland had left very late before their play was called off.
The Scotland Women’s Six Nations game with Italy on February 23 has been postponed due to an outbreak in the Milan region.
And the women’s match between Wales and Scotland in the Six Nations on March 15 was also eliminated after a Scottish player tested positive for the virus.
Ospreys and Ulster’s Pro14 trips to play in Italy on February 29 are being postponed. Ospreys would play Zebre in Parma with Treviso as the venue for Ulster’s game against Benetton.
The Irish Six Nations meeting with Italy on March 7 has been postponed
The Italian Rugby Federation has suspended its National Championship and youth matches for February 28-March 1.
Hong Kong Rugby Sevens is postponed, which is a blow to the Olympic preparations for Team GB.
The RFU suspended all rugby levels in England until April 14, with the announcement shortly after the premiere ship was discontinued for five weeks.
The quarterfinals of the European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup have also been postponed. Those games were scheduled on April 3, 4 and 5.
In doubt
The RFL is still ongoing, although that may be re-examined after confirming that eight Leeds Rhinos players isolated themselves.
TENNIS
Canceled
All events on the ATP Tour are suspended for six weeks.
The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, which was scheduled to begin on March 9, was postponed at eleven. It came after a confirmed case of the coronavirus in the nearby Coachella Valley.
The final of an ATP Challenger event in Bergamo, Italy, between Enzo Couacaud and Illya Marchenko from Ukraine is canceled. Both players received ranking points and prize money for reaching the final. They were not allowed to play behind closed doors.
China lost a Davis Cup tie because the men’s team was unable to travel to Romania for the playoff on March 6-7.
Xi’an Open WTA event (scheduled for April 13-19) will be canceled due to fear of player safety. WTA has announced that they are evaluating their schedule with a number of events scheduled for China in the second half of the season.
The International Tennis Federation has announced that next month’s Fed Cup finals have been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The event would take place in Budapest, and the league’s playoffs, which would take place in eight different locations, have also been put on hold.
The WTA has also announced that no tournaments will be held for at least five weeks.
Influenced
The home game of Japan’s home game against Ecuador next week is now played behind closed doors.
Players will be banned from handing over their towels to ball kids at BNP Paribas Open next week in Indian Wells, the organizers said on Friday.
OTHER SPORTS
Canceled
MotoGP has canceled the first two races of the season in Qatar and Thailand. However, Moto2 and Moto3 will ride in Qatar as they were already stationed on the track for pre-season testing.
Cycling’s United Arab Emirates Tour has been canceled with Chris Froome tested for coronavirus and Mark Cavendish locked in his hotel room.
The South Korean baseball league canceled all 50 preseason games scheduled from March 14 to 24. It is the first time since the start of the competitions in 1982 that a whole series of exhibition games has been eliminated.
The draw for the first leg of the World Table Tennis Championships, scheduled for March 22-29 for South Korea, is postponed.
A beach volleyball tournament, held in Yangzhou from April 22-26, will be postponed until after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The short track world championship in Seoul is canceled.
Next month’s World Triathlon Series event in Abu Dhabi was postponed on Saturday as a precaution.
The event was scheduled to take place from March 5 to March 7 in the city, which reported new cases of the virus.
Event organizers said they still hoped the event would be moved later in March or April.
The Women’s Ice Hockey World Championships, which will take place in Canada later this month, have been canceled.
The NBA has also been suspended indefinitely after two Utah Jazz players contracted the virus.
The NHL has announced that it has interrupted the 2019-20 season without a confirmed date for it to resume.
The UFC has canceled the following three events due to the coronavirus, although President Dana White still continues as the long-awaited lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
All 72 baseball games for the season in Japan take place behind closed doors
Influenced
The Japanese professional baseball league made the decision to play its 72 games for the season until March 15 behind closed doors. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan.
To reduce the chances of exposure to the virus, the NBA has told players not to take autograph seekers’ objects such as pens, highlighters, balls, and jerseys.
In doubt
The regular season of the South Korean baseball league is in doubt ahead of the first game round on March 28. An emergency meeting was convened.
Doubts remain as the Asian weightlifting championships, scheduled for March, are moving from Kazakhstan to neighboring Uzbekistan. They can still be postponed.
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