Euro 2020 a major doubt in summer due to virus

EURO 2020 could be postponed until next summer at an emergency UEFA meeting next week prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

European football’s governing body has called together its 55 member associations to discuss options for completing the Champions League, the Europa League and the possibility of moving the Euros amid widespread disruption to the fixture schedule caused by travel restrictions and positive tests.

The Covid-19 outbreak has had a huge impact on the sporting calendar across the globe, with Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix postponed.

It is understood everything will be on the table in terms of options at the UEFA meeting, including moving the Euros, changing hosting arrangements or the format of the event.

Similarly, the club competitions will also be looked at to see if there is a way they can continue.

Tuesday’s Champions League matches between Real Madrid and Manchester City and Juventus and Lyon have both been postponed.

Real’s players had been quarantined as a precautionary measure after a member of the club’s basketball team tested positive for coronavirus.

That followed news on Wednesday night that Juventus’ Daniele Rugani had tested positive for Covid-19 and that isolation procedures were being put in place for other squad members who may have had contact.

Leicester confirmed three players were in self-isolation on medical advice from the NHS after showing ‘symptoms consistent with common seasonal illness’.

Manager Brendan Rodgers said: “We’ve had a few players that have shown symptoms and signs (of coronavirus).

“We’ve followed procedures and (as a precaution) they have been kept away from the squad.”

The Australian Grand Prix was called off over health concerns, which followed a member of the McLaren team testing positive for the virus. The decision was taken following a two-hour summit involving F1’s hierarchy, governing body the FIA, and a number of the sport’s team principals in Melbourne.

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton had earlier criticised the decision to press ahead with the event.