Scotland’s rugby match with France in the Women’s Six Nations was called off last night after a Scottish player tested positive for coronavirus.

Government to address outbreak with authorities and broadcasters

Sports governing bodies and broadcasters have been called to a UK Government meeting on Monday to discuss how to deal with the impact the coronavirus outbreak could have on the sporting calendar.

The meeting is part of the government’ s long-term contingency planning and will cover various possibilities, such as holding events behind closed doors, should the virus continue to spread and gatherings of large numbers of people are banned.

It will be hosted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on Monday morning.

The authorities in Italy have already introduced a ban on mass gatherings which has hit sports events and Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce fears it is “pretty inevitable” Premier League games will be played behind closed doors as a result of the outbreak.

He said at his pre-match press conference yesterday: “It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? But obviously, they’re doing it now in Italy and it’s something we’re probably going to face.. people’s lives are at stake and we’ve got to go by the authorities. But it looks pretty inevitable that could be on the cards.”

All Serie A games in Italy will be played behind closed doors for the next month, while Italy’s Six Nations matches against Ireland and England have been postponed.

And in France, Paris St-Germain’s Ligue 1 game away to Strasbourg today was postponed last night. Both clubs said the decision was due to a “prefectural order” issued by the Grand Est region where Strasbourg are based.

Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster has warned the continuing spread of the virus could make the Scottish football season “very difficult” to complete.

Liverpool have announced a raft of measures, including a decision not to use on-pitch mascots at games, aimed at protecting staff and spectators, and the

Premier League and English Football League have both abandoned the traditional pre-match handshake until further notice.

However, Scotland’s chief medical officer has insisted scientific evidence suggests mass gatherings, particularly those held outdoors, are unlikely to result in the virus being passed on.

Speaking at Murrayfield ahead of Scotland’s Six Nations clash with France tomorrow, Dr Catherine Calderwood said: “I’ve looked at the scientific evidence very carefully, and what’s emerging is that there’s actually very little impact on virus spread from mass gatherings, particularly if they are in the open air. This is not a risk to the Scottish population in hosting this match.”

Last night’s PRO14 fixture between Dragons and Italy’s Benetton went ahead as planned, while officials insist Barcelona’s Champions League clash with Napoli on March 18 is not at risk.

Golf continues to be badly affected, with next week’s European Tour event in Nairobi and the Asian Tour’s Royal’s Cup 2020 in Thailand being postponed.

Scotland’s chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood.