Norway say they cannot host Serbia in Euro qualifier

OSLO: The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) said yesterday that they did not plan to hold Norway’s Euro 2020 playoff match against Serbia that was scheduled for March 26 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The match was initially intended to be played without spectators in attendance but new quarantine provisions will rule Norwegian players competing outside the country out of the fixture.

“We have informed UEFA, referring to the Norwegian authorities,” NFF general secretary Pal Bjerketvedt said in a statement.

“An extension of the quarantine provisions on Thursday also means that most of the players in contention (for the squad) will be placed in the 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Norway, and thus not available.

“What the NFF has no control over is whether the match on March 26, the playoff round and the European Championships will be cancelled or postponed.

“We’ll only know this after a clarification in a telephone conference in UEFA.”

European soccer governing body UEFA is holding a crisis meeting on Tuesday where they will consider all options for the next period, including possibly postponing the Euro 2020 tournament scheduled for June and July.

Meanwhile in Belgrade, the Serbian government will order all football games to be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said yesterday.

“We will officially announce a crowd ban at football games,” Brnabic told a news conference after Serbia’s health ministry said there had been 31 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

Red Star Belgrade, the 1991 European Cup winners, had earlier yesterday decided to slash ticket prices for Saturday’s home game against Napredak Krusevac for all sections of the 56,000-seat stadium.

The move was intended to celebrate the club's 75th anniversary.

Red Star, the winners of a record 30 league titles, top the first division table on 66 points from 25 games, 11 more than bitter city foes Partizan.