SPORT FACES VIRUS CHAOS
SPORTS authorities and broadcasters in Britain will meet the Government tomorrow to thrash out coronavirus contingency plans — as Italian sport faces a total shutdown.
And with the disease spreading rapidly across Europe, the possibility of a full Premier League suspension cannot be ruled out.
So far two people have died from the virus in the UK with more than 200 testing positive. There have been
almost 4,000 deaths worldwide. Tomorrow Government ministers will discuss a wide range of scenarios for all sports in the hope of reaching agreements on a plan to protect the public and they will be acutely aware of the drastic measures being contemplated in Italy.
The Italian government has already ordered all sporting competitions to be played behind closed doors until April 3 in a bid to control the spread of the disease, which has killed more than 230 people in the country.
And now the president of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, has refused to rule out the complete suspension of Serie A if a player tests positive for the virus.
‘We would take all necessary measures to guarantee the protection of our athletes,’ he said. ‘We won’t rule anything out.’
That also has implications for both the Champions League and Europa League, with four Italian clubs — Juventus, Napoli, Roma and Inter Milan — still involved in those competitions.
Serie A resumed in empty stadiums this weekend after several games had been postponed in the past fortnight.
In England, meanwhile, pre-match handshakes between teams and officials were banned yesterday in the Premier League and Football League, while Liverpool also decided against having mascots for their home game against Bournemouth.
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce believes clubs will have to accept playing behind closed doors. He said: ‘We know there’s a big meeting on Monday, all of us are obviously concerned and, when you hear the threat of what’s happening in Italy, you know it’s serious. We have to think of people’s health. which is more important than a football match any day of the week.
‘People are dying of this so we have to abide by the medical people and we have to accept it [playing behind closed doors].’
Also on the table will be banning over-70s from all grounds, a possibility that was not lost on Crystal Palace’s 72-year-old manager Roy Hodgson.
‘I’ll worry about that when the time comes,’ he said. ‘Certainly I have never felt healthier and never felt happier about the environment I am in.’
Next week’s Barcelona Marathon was called off and there must now be question marks over next month’s London Marathon and other sporting events, such as the Grand National on April 4.