Coronavirus: Timeline of the outbreak’s impact on football across the world
More games have been postponed on Wednesday
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Your support makes all the difference.The spread of coronavirus around the world is having a major impact on the football calendar, with Manchester City’s match against Arsenal the first Premier League casualty.
Here is a look at how events have unfolded.
30 January – China’s domestic football season – including its lucrative Super League – is postponed.
4 February – Asian Champions League matches involving Chinese clubs Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG, are postponed until April.
13 February – Manchester United’s new signing Odion Ighalo trains away from the club as a precautionary measure following his arrival from China.
23 February – Serie A matches in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto are postponed, along with matches in the lower leagues.
25 February – Five Serie A matches, including Juventus at home to Inter Milan, are ordered to be played behind closed doors. Japan’s J-League is suspended.
29 February – The five Serie A matches due to be played in empty stadiums are called off at short notice. They are rescheduled for Wednesday, May 13, with the Coppa Italia final moved back a week to May 20.
1 March – Sampdoria v Verona is postponed.
3 March – The Italian Cup semi-final second leg between Juventus and AC Milan in Turin is called off. The return leg of the other last-four tie, between Napoli and Inter Milan, is also postponed.
5 March – The Premier League bans pre-match handshakes. It is also announced that Valencia’s Champions League last-16 tie at home to Atalanta, on March 10, will be played behind closed doors.
6 March – In France, Paris St Germain’s fixture at Strasbourg is postponed.
8 March – UEFA bans pre-match handshakes between players and officials in all its competitions.
9 March – It is announced that PSG’s Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund will be played behind closed doors, along with Olympiacos v Wolves and Sevilla v Roma in the Europa League. The Asian qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup, scheduled for later in the month, are postponed.
10 March – Nottingham Forest confirm their owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Olympiacos, has been diagnosed with coronavirus. European matches including those involving Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona are ordered to be played behind closed doors, as is the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2020 play-off against Slovakia on March 26, and all matches in the top two divisions in Spain and France. Wolves’ request to have their fixture at Olympiacos postponed is turned down by UEFA. Northern Irish champions Linfield confirm a member of their squad has tested positive for the virus.
11 March – Manchester City’s Premier League match with Arsenal is postponed with a number of Gunners players in self-isolation following their tie against Olympiacos. Hannover’s Timo Hubers becomes the first German professional player to test positive for the disease. All Nottingham Forest players test negative for the virus, as do all members of staff tested. Roma’s Europa League tie against Sevilla is abandoned as the Serie A side’s plane is not cleared to land in Spain.
PA
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