Tue 10 March 2020:
The outbreak of coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,800 people and spread to at least 100 countries, has also affected sporting events across the world.
COVID-19, as the disease is officially known, has infected more than 110,000 people globally.
Governments are scrambling to stop the spread of the virus, advising against public gatherings. In several countries, people have been advised against shaking hands to minimise risks of contamination.
Italy, Europe’s worst-hit country, has cancelled all sporting events until at least April 3and the government has put the country in lockdown as it battles the virus.
In North America, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League have temporarily restricted locker room access to players and “essential staff”.
Football
FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation have agreed to postpone the Asian World Cup qualifying matches in March and June.
In Greece, the Europa League last-16 first leg match between Olympiakos and Wolverhampton Wanderers on March 12 will go ahead in Piraeus behind closed doors.
France’s top-flight matches will be played with no spectators, or in some cases with a maximum audience of 1,000 people, until April 15. In Paris, the Champions League clash between PSG and Borussia Dortmund on March 11 will take place in an empty stadium.
Players in England’s Premier League have also been told to forgo traditional pre-match handshakes.
In Denmark, players from Brondby and Lyngby are in isolation after they met former international Thomas Kahlenberg, who has tested positive for the virus.
The Swiss league has been put on hold until at least March 23.
All Romanian league matches will be played without fans until further notice.
All Bulgarian league matches in the next two rounds will be played without fans. The Bulgarian Football Union suspended ticket sales for the Euro 2020 qualifying play-off semi-final between Bulgaria and Hungary for March 26.
New seasons in the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean professional leagues have been postponed.
Asian Champions League matches involving Chinese clubs Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG have been postponed. The start of the knockout rounds has been moved back to September.
Olympic Games
In Greece, spectators will not be in attendance at the torch-lighting ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in ancient Olympia.
Athletics
The World Athletics Indoor Championships, scheduled for Nanjing from March 13 to 15, have been postponed until next year.
Paris and Barcelona marathons have also been postponed.
Formula One
The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai has been postponed.
Fans will be missing from the stands for the second Formula One race in Manama, Bahrain on March 22.
Tennis
Disappointment for tennis fans in California as the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells is cancelled.
Also cancelled were the Xi’an Open, scheduled for April 13 to 19, and Kunming Open, pencilled for April 27 to May 3. Both events were to take place in China.
Boxing
The Olympic boxing qualifiers for Asia and Oceania were moved to Jordan from China.
Rugby
At least three Six Nations matches have been postponed.
The women’s Six Nations game between Scotland and France was postponed after a Scottish player tested positive for coronavirus.
The Singapore and Hong Kong legs of the World Rugby Sevens Series have been postponed from April to October.
MotoGP
The opening two rounds of the season in Qatar, which was scheduled for March 8, did not go ahead. The Thailand race, due to be held on March 22, has been postponed.
Table tennis
The world championships in Busan, South Korea, have been pushed back provisionally from March to June.
The April 21 to 26 World Tour Japan Open in Kitakyushu has been postponed.
Golf
The Honda LPGA Thailand event and the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore have been cancelled.
The Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur and the China Open have been postponed.
Cycling
The final two stages of the UAE Tour were cancelled after two Italian participants tested positive for coronavirus.
Four teams have pulled out of several cycling races in Italy.
Baseball
The final qualification tournament for the Olympics in Taiwan has been postponed from April to June.
Japan’s professional league has postponed the start of the new season.
Cricket
The men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League A, scheduled to begin on March 16 in Malaysia, has been postponed.
Judo
The International Judo Federation cancelled all Olympic qualification events through to the end of April.
Weightlifting
The Asian Championships, scheduled to take place in Uzbekistan from April 16 to 25, have been cancelled.
Winter sports
The Women’s World Ice Hockey Championships in Canada have been cancelled.
The World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea, have been postponed until at least October.
Australian Rules
The AFL game between St Kilda Saints and Port Adelaide Power scheduled for May 31 in China has been moved to Melbourne.
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