Coronavirus sport news – live: Premier League suspended as Champions League and Europa League matches also cancelled
Follow latest updates as coronavirus continues to take its toll on the sporting world
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Follow live coverage where the Premier League has agreed to postpone the season until at least 4 April at in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The Independent has been told that several clubs have pushed for a suspension and that there is a minority of officials who will argue that the campaign should be voided altogether.
Uefa have confirmed that all Champions League and Europa League games next week, including Bayern Munich vs Chelsea and Man City vs Real Madrid, have been cancelled. This comes after Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta tested positive for the virus as has Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi.
England’s cricket tour of Sri Lanka has been called off while elsewhere, Formula One have cancelled the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. A member of McLaren’s team tested positive for Covid-19, leading the constructors to withdraw from this weekend’s planned race. F1 later announced the race would not go ahead. Follow the latest updates here:
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The Premier League had previously taken their lead from the government, which had been adamant that closing stadiums was reactionary, and not actually that beneficial.
That stance has been undercut by participating figures like Arteta and Hudson-Odoi actually contracting the virus, as it illustrates a host of other problems beyond the actual benefit of shutting down mass gatherings like football matches.
The postponement of "the professional game in England" includes international fixtures.
This mean England's matches against Italy and Denmark at the end of March will not go ahead.
Saturday’s Six Nations match between Wales and Scotland will go ahead as planned, with doors open to fans despite growing fears over the coronavirus outbreak.
The fixture is the only one that will go ahead on the final day of the championship, with both Italy vs England and France vs Ireland already postponed over coronavirus fears.
President Donald Trump's suggestion to postpone the Tokyo Olympics for a year because of the spreading coronavirus was immediately shot down by Japan's Olympic minister.
"The IOC and the organising committee are not considering cancellation or a postponement - absolutely not at all," Seiko Hashimoto, an Olympic bronze medalist, told a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
The International Olympic Committee and Tokyo organisers have stayed on message since the viral outbreak in China three months ago spread across Asia and then the globe: The games will open as scheduled on 24 July.
"I just can't see having no people there. In other words, not allowing people," Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. "Maybe, and this is just my idea, maybe they postpone it for a year."
The Scottish football season has been suspended indefinitely over coronavirus fears.
This ranges from the Scottish Premiership all the way down to grassroots football.
The Old Firm Derby between Rangers and Celtic was due to take place this weekend.
A statement from West Ham: "Due to members of West Ham personnel being in direct contact with the Arsenal manager at our game at Emirates Stadium at the weekend, the Club is taking a precautionary approach and those individuals are now self-isolating, in line with Government health guidelines."
UFC London is still set to take place as planned next Saturday.
Liverpool would have become the first club in the history of the Premier League to secure the title before April if they had beaten Everton and Crystal Palace.
All Premier League fixtures have now been postponed until 3 April at the earliest due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Breaking: Formula One has postponed both the Bahrain and Vietnam Grands Prix, meaning the first four races of the 2020 season have been called off over coronavirus.
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