Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Coronavirus sport news: Premier League ban extended to end of April due to Covid-19

The Premier League could today finalise provisional plans to play out the remaining 92 fixtures

Jack Rathborn
Thursday 19 March 2020 16:34 EDT
Comments
Coronavirus: What we know so far

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Premier League clubs attempted to thrash out a plan to complete a season placed on ice by the coronavirus pandemic when they met via a conference call on Thursday. Covid-19 has forced leagues around Europe to be suspended, with England’s top tier now on hold until at least 30 April.

Uefa have postponed Euro 2020 for a year, giving the leagues valuable breathing room to finish the fixtures. Elsewhere, the Ryder Cup in golf looks to be on, still, with Padraig Harrington insisting the September tournament could run without fans.

Here are all the latest happenings from around the world on Thursday as sport contends with the pandemic.

Please allow a moment for updates to load

Premier League clubs attempted to thrash out a plan to complete a season placed on ice by the coronavirus pandemic when they met via a conference call on Thursday. Covid-19 has forced leagues around Europe to be suspended, with England’s top tier now on hold until at least 30 April.

Top-flight fixtures were originally suspended until April 4 at the earliest and the lay-off was extended on Thursday, despite Uefa’s decision to postpone the Euro 2020 finals for 12 months with an aim of creating room for manoeuvre.

The EFL has already announced a £50million short-term relief package to help out struggling lower league clubs during the shut-down, a move which was brought into sharp focus by Scottish Premiership side Hearts’ announcement that it has asked staff to take a 50 per cent pay cut.

In a statement on the club’s official website, Hearts owner Anne Budge said: “In order to try to prevent a staff redundancy programme and to protect as many jobs as possible, I am proposing to implement a club-wide salary reduction programme.

“Given the uncertainty of the whole situation with which we have been presented, we cannot say how long these measures will be in place.”

Kubrat Pulev has seemed to suggest on his Facebook page that his fight against Anthony Joshua has been postponed due to coronavirus...

Alex Pattle19 March 2020 18:40

Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev postponed due to coronavirus pandemic, claims Bulgarian

Alex Pattle19 March 2020 18:49

That's all our live coverage of coronavirus' impact on sport for today. Make sure to check back tomorrow, and keep an eye on our site this evening for further news.

Until then...

Alex Pattle19 March 2020 19:31

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in