The corona virus continues to occupy top sports. Now the next domino is falling - the Champions League and Europa League could be completely paused.
- The corona virus continues to throw the sport into chaos.
- The first measures have already been taken.
- Now there is also a mandatory break for the Champions League and Europa League.
Update from March 12, 6:09 p.m .: Now the second Champions League round of 16 has been postponed. The game between Juventus Turin and Olympique Lyon has now been postponed indefinitely. This was announced by UEFA. The reason is the Corona disease of the Juve player Rugani.
The match between Manchester City and Real Madrid had previously been postponed.
Update from March 12, 6:07 p.m .: There was a lot of back and forth around the Europa League encounter between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Base 1. Ultimately, the first leg will take place in Frankfurt without spectators . Annoying to the eagles.
But you could get a little compensation. It is considered that the second leg will also be held in Frankfurt . Two home games in one round ? This has never happened before. Although they do not win a fan advantage, they would save the travel hassle.
The second leg against @ FCBasel1893 will take place in Frankfurt - subject to further unpredictable developments. Due to the current situation with the corona virus, the game will most likely also have to take place in camera. pic.twitter.com/8ekMNBn3ls
- Eintracht Frankfurt (@Eintracht) March 12, 2020Champions League and Europa League before off: First CL round of 16 finals canceled
Update of March 12, 5:18 p.m .: The second leg of the second leg of the Champions League between Manchester City and Real Madrid scheduled for next Tuesday has been postponed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic . The Citizens officially announced on Thursday.
The decision was expected after the entire Madrid squad had been quarantined after a positive test result in the club's basketball department. In response, the Spanish league announced that it would suspend play for the next two weeks.
CLUB STATEMENT https://t.co/65muifR2qT
- Manchester City (@ManCity) March 12, 2020Champions League and Europa League before Aus? Coronavirus is likely to force UEFA to take radical action
First announcement from March 12th: Nyon - One domino after the other falls. After countless sports leagues * have announced that they will end or interrupt the season *, UEFA is now apparently planning another drastic measure. According to the Spanish daily Marca, the European Football Union will suspend play in the Champions League and in the Europa League - due to the corona virus .
The corona consequences are already fatal - both health and economic. So far, only ghost games have been scheduled in the Bundesliga *. But it seems to be only a matter of time before the game is stopped. The Spanish league had recently announced that it would take a break. Several professionals are now infected *.
Coronavirus: Champions League and Europa League will probably have to pause
Why the breaks and cancellations ? The background remains the same: in no country is the health system set up to care for such a wave of sick people at the same time. Covid-19 may not be fatal to everyone, but of course infected people with serious symptoms need to be treated properly.
Chart: Why it is so important to delay the spread of # covid19, #coronavirus. #Health system pic.twitter.com/km6FydOuM7
- More logic - data & politics (@mehr_logik) March 7, 2020From a certain point in time, the capacities are simply no longer sufficient. The result: the number of deaths increases. Not today, not tomorrow - but with the usual exponential growth, experts already expect over a million people to be infected in May. Thousands of people would be in mortal danger. In Italy, 12,462 people were infected on Thursday, 827 of whom are dead.
It is therefore crucial to intervene now and stop the spread . For this reason, countless events are currently canceled - now also the Champions League and the Europa League? The Spanish association boss Luis Rubiales confirmed on Thursday that there are corresponding considerations. There was initially no official confirmation from UEFA .
Champions League: Coronavirus probably forces UEFA to take radical measures - Europa League also affected
The decision would be a novelty in the European premier class . In the past, eight group games had been postponed by a week since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. Otherwise, there were mostly only shifts due to bad weather conditions.
How and whether things will continue in the two most important European club competitions is still completely open. On March 17th there will be a big video conference with all those responsible. There are also considerations of a rejection * at the EM 2020.
* tz.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network
akl / dpa