The worldwide outbreak of coronavirus had led to the death of more than 3,000 people and in a bid to contain its spread, sporting events around the world are being moved or cancelled.
There have been a number of cancellations in the Six Nations, while the Formula 1 China Grand Prix has also been called off.
There are also questions about events taking place later this year, including the 2020 Olympics and Euro 2020, while the UK government has not ruled out banning public events where large crowds gather.
Here is the latest news on those and across sport.
Olympics
- Status: uncertain, but preparations going on as normal
Japan’s Olympics minister signalled the Summer Games would go ahead as planned from July even as the coronavirus outbreak spread to new parts of the country.
“Based on the fact that the IOC never mentioned about cancelling or postponing the Tokyo Games at its meeting yesterday, I don’t expect a cancellation notice or anything of that sort,” Seiko Hashimoto said in parliament on Thursday.
The minister had caused controversy earlier this week by saying the contract for the games “could be interpreted as allowing a postponement” within calendar 2020.
Japan’s western prefecture of Shiga reported its first coronavirus infection on Thursday, a day after the announcement of a first case in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki.
National broadcaster NHK also reported new coronavirus infections in Kyoto, Sapporo and Niigata.
Confirmed cases had risen to 1,036 nationwide as of Thursday morning, 36 more than the previous day, according to NHK. That was the biggest one-day increase to date.
The rapid spread of the virus has raised questions about whether Tokyo can host the Olympics as scheduled from July 24, with the effects being felt by other sporting events.
On Wednesday, the Japanese Rugby Football Union announced that next month’s Asia Sevens Invitational, which doubles as a test event for rugby sevens at the Tokyo Olympics, has been cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
The Tokyo marathon was held this month without the participation of non-elite runners, and with fewer volunteers and spectators.
Twelve people have died from the disease in Japan, according to the health ministry.
Hashimoto told the upper house on Thursday that organisers and the IOC would continue to work together closely, and reiterated the final decision on holding the games as planned rests with the IOC.
“Cancellation or delay of the Games would be unacceptable for the athletes,” Hashimoto said. “An environment where athletes can feel at ease and focus should be firmly prepared.”
Under the host city contract, the IOC has the right to terminate the contract if it has reasonable grounds to believe the safety of the Games would be seriously threatened.
But IOC head Thomas Bach on Wednesday voiced confidence the Games would go ahead, saying organisers were receiving expert information from the World Health Organization and others and that the words “postponement” and “cancellation” had not been mentioned at the IOC’s executive board meeting.
Some Tokyo residents, however, expressed concerns.
“I think the Olympics should be cancelled in this case because it is a dangerous situation,” 77-year-old Yufumi Tamaki told Reuters on Thursday. “I feel sorry for the athletes and the people who have prepared for the Games, but it is more important to save lives.”
Organisers have made provisions to cancel Tokyo 2020 in the event of a massive earthquake or other natural disaster, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported.
Reuters
Euro 2020
- Status: uncertain and being monitored
Fears are mounting that coronavirus could throw this summer’s European Championship into chaos – but governing body Uefa says the decision rests in the hands of local government.
“We’re in touch with the authorities, we’re in the hands of the local authorities, and we’ll deal with whatever they tell us,” a Uefa spokesman said.
“There wasn’t much discussion about it because there is not much we can do about it… it’s in the hands of those people who were experts in the situation.”
The deadly disease has struck several countries scheduled to co-host the first pan-continental Euros, with Spain joining the UK, Germany, Russia and Italy.
Uefa has been discussing coronavirus at its Amsterdam meeting this week. While it maintains Euro 2020 will go ahead as scheduled, there are question marks around play-off semi-finals due to take place this month and Champions League matches.
Football
- Status: La Liga games behind closed doors for at least two weeks,
La Liga matches will be played without fans for at least the next two rounds of fixtures to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Spanish league said on Tuesday.
Barcelona has also said its Champions League clash with Napoli next week will be played behind closed doors.
Meanwhile:
- Nottingham Forest’s majority owner Evangelos Marinakis confirmed he has contracted coronavirus, stating “the recent virus has visited me” in a statement on his official Instagram page. Marinakis has visited the dressing room on the day of the club’s defeat to Millwall last week.
- Reports Bayern Munich vs Chelsea will be played behind closed doors next week
- Wolves’ Europa League tie at Olympiacos on Thursday will be played behind closed doors.
- Manchester United’s Europa League clash with LASK could also be postponed
- Borussia Moenchengladbach will host Cologne in the Bundesliga in front of empty stands on Wednesday after the city ruled in favour of the ban due to the coronavirus.
- The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina has postponed ticket sales for the Euro 2020 qualifying playoff semi-final between Bosnia and Northern Ireland on March 26 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Australia will not attempt to put on World Cup qualifiers during the international windows in March and June and will instead look to set up other fixtures for the Socceroos, Football Federation Australia (FFA) said on Tuesday.
The Premier League and EFL continues to run as normal, with organisers monitoring the latest health advice.
Rugby and Six Nations
- Status: Only Wales v Scotland remains of Six Nations; Top 14 fate to be decided
The French league is expected to decide on Wednesday whether the Top 14, the richest rugby union league in the world, will be suspended or the matches will be played without any spectators amid the coronavirus outbreak.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that the decision would be made at a board meeting, which will be held by telephone.
League officials have been meeting with the Sports minister on Tuesday and they will discuss the matter with the club presidents in a conference call at 1700 GMT on Tuesday.
London Marathon
- Status: going ahead but being monitored
The organisers of the London Marathon are ‘closely monitoring’ the spread of the coronavirus.
Concern has been mounting over the race that is scheduled to take place on April 26. The Tokyo Marathon took the decision to restrict the number of entrants that could run. Instead of 38,000 taking part, organisers only allowed 176 elite athletes and 30 wheelchair athletes to compete in the race on March 1.
A decision is not expected to be made about the London Marathon until closer to the event.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director at London Marathon Events, told Runner’s World: “We, along with the rest of the world, are monitoring closely the developments relating to the spread of coronavirus and noting the updates and advice given by the UK Government, the World Health Organisation and other public bodies.
“With two months to go before the event on Sunday 26 April, we will continue to monitor the situation.”
Formula 1 and Formula E
- Status: China GP postponed; Australia and Bahrain going ahead, the latter behind closed doors
The Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix this month will be held without fans in attendance due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, organisers said on Sunday.
The Gulf Arab state, which is hosting the second round of the Formula One season on March 22, has reported 83 cases of the virus, mostly linked to people who had travelled to Iran.
The FIA had already called off the Chinese Grand Prix.
Organisers have insisted the opening two rounds of the Formula One season in Australia (March 15) and Bahrain (March 22) are scheduled to go ahead as planned.
F1 personnel who have visited high-risk countries within 14 days of their arrival in the Gulf Kingdom will be subjected to an extensive screening process.
Formula E race scheduled for Rome on April 4 will not take place due to the coronavirus, the all-electric series announced on Friday.
The race is the second this season to be called off due to the virus. A Chinese Formula E round in Sanya has already been postponed from March 21.
Italy has ordered all major sporting events throughout the country, including top-flight Serie A soccer games, to be played without fans for one month in a bid to curb Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak.
“As a consequence of the ongoing health emergency in Italy…it will no longer be possible to stage the Rome E-Prix on April 4,” Formula E said.
The series said it would assess the possibility of holding the race once restrictions had been lifted.
The next race on the calendar will now be Paris on April 18.
Reuters
Cycling
- Status: Milan-Sanremo and Strade Bianche cancelled
The Milan-Sanremo one-day race has been cancelled as well as two other cycling events in Italy, the European country worst-hit by the coronavirus outbreak, organisers said on Friday.
“Following the confirmation by the relevant authorities that they are unable to grant appropriate authorisations, RCS Sport announces that the cycling race Tirreno-Adriatico, scheduled for 11-17 March, is cancelled from its original dates,” RCS said in a statement.
“Furthermore… to guarantee the safeguarding of public health and the safety of all the people involved, RCS Sport has made the decision to cancel Milan-Sanremo, scheduled for 21 March, and Il Giro di Sicilia, scheduled for 1-4 April.”
Milan-Sanremo is one of cycling’s five ‘Monument’ classics, along with Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, the Tour of Lombardy and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
RCS, who had already cancelled Saturday’s Strade Bianche, added that they would ask the International Cycling Union (UCI) to find new dates for the races in question.
There have been over 3,000 coronavirus cases and more than 100 deaths in Italy and a government decree ruled on Wednesday that sporting events must be held without fans.
Reuters
Athletics
- Status: Paris Marathon off, World Indoor Championships cancelled
The Paris marathon has been postponed from April 5 to Oct. 18 due to the coronavirus outbreak, organisers said on Thursday.
The World Indoor Championships, which had been due to take place in Nanjing in China this month, have been called off, while the Hong Kong Marathon – scheduled for February 8 – was also cancelled.
Golf
- Status: Cancelled tournaments in Asia
The Maybank Championship in Malaysia and the Volvo China Open in Shenzhen have both been postponed because of the outbreak.
The PGA Tour Series-China confirmed two qualifying tournaments scheduled for Bintan, Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand have been postponed. The knock-on impact means the four opening competitions – the Sanya Championship (March 23-29), the Haikou Classic (March 30-April 5), the Chongqing Championship (April 6-12) and the Guangzhou Open (April 13-19) – will now not go ahead as originally planned.
The HSBC Women’s World Championships was set for Singapore at the end of February, but along with the Honda LPGA Thailand in Pattaya, have both been called off. The Blue Bay LPGA, scheduled for the start of March on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, will now also not take place due to continued health concerns in the region.
Tennis
- Status: Indian Wells cancelled; ATP Challenger Tour events cancelled
The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells will not take place due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, organisers have said.
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Kim Clijsters were among the players expected to take part in the tournament which was due to start in California on Monday.
A statement from the organisers said: “The 2020 BNP Paribas Open will not take place at this time due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus and the safety of the participants and attendees at the event.
“This is following the guidance of medical professionals, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), and State of California.”
Indian Wells is the first Premier Mandatory event of the WTA season and is a Masters 1000 event on the men’s tour.
Tournament Director Tommy Haas said: “We are very disappointed that the tournament will not take place, but the health and safety of the local community, fans, players, volunteers, sponsors, employees, vendors, and everyone involved with the event is of paramount importance.
“We are prepared to hold the tournament on another date and will explore options.”
David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California, said: “There is too great a risk, at this time, to the public health of the Riverside County area in holding a large gathering of this size.
“It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighbouring areas for this tournament to proceed. We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak.”
Nadal wrote on Twitter: “You probably all heard the news. Indian Wells cancelled.
“We are here and still deciding what’s next. So sad for all that is happening around the world with this situation.
“Hopefully soon solutions from the authorities. Stay all well and safe.”
Elsewhere:
Motorcycling
The opening race of the MotoGP season, the Grand Prix of Qatar due to take place from March 6-8, was cancelled due to the travel restrictions imposed in the country. On Monday, the second race on this year’s calendar – the Thailand Grand Prix, scheduled for March 22 – was also postponed, with organisers evaluating when the event could go ahead.
Basketball
As fears over the coronavirus outbreak continue to grow and sports leagues around the globe make contingency plans, the NBA on Friday reportedly sent a memo to teams telling them to begin “developing” plans to play games with no fans or media in attendance.
According to ESPN and The Athletic, the memo advised teams to have plans in place in case “it were to become necessary to play a game with only essential staff present.” Having only essential staff present, according to the reports, would mean fans and media members would not be among those allowed at the games.
AP
Boxing
The Ireland boxing squad cut short a pre-Olympic qualifier training camp in Italy as a precautionary measure last week. Meanwhile, all boxing shows scheduled for March in Japan have been cancelled.
Badminton
Seven Indian badminton players have pulled out of next week’s All England Open championships over coronavirus fears, the Badminton Association of India said, as the outbreak continues to disrupt sport events across the world.
The Badminton World Federation has not yet made any adjustments to its Olympic qualification rules despite the cancellation of some tournaments in which ranking points were available. The German Open (March 3-8), Polish Open (March 26-29) and Vietnam International Challenge (March 24-29) have been postponed or cancelled after the China Masters (February 25-March 1) was called off last month. The BWF has said not enough tournaments have yet been hit for changes to be made.
Snooker
The £1million China Open, scheduled to start in Beijing at the end of March, has been cancelled.
Ice Skating
The World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, scheduled to take place in Seoul this month, have been called off.
Triathlon
The World Triathlon Series event scheduled for March 5-7 in Abu Dhabi was delayed. Event organisers said they hoped to reschedule the event to take place later in March or April.
Skiing
The Alpine skiing World Cup finals in Cortina d’Ampezzo have been cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Italian winter sports federation (FISI) said on Friday.
“It’s with great regret that I took this decision,” said FISI president Flavio Roda after every nation but Italy voted against holding the March 18-22 finals at an International Skiing Federation (FIS) emergency meeting.
“But every member of the council motivated their decision to cancel the finals.”
The men’s season will be concluded by speed events this weekend in Kvitfjell, Norway, and technical events the following weekend in Krajska Gora, Slovenia.
Sumo wrestling
Japan’s sumo wrestlers faced off for the spring grand tournament on Sunday in front of empty seats in Osaka, western Japan, with fans asked to stay away to help limit the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku said it would be difficult for wrestlers to prepare mentally for the tournament without spectators but that they would nevertheless compete to the utmost of their ability during matches.
“All of the wrestlers will hear fans cheering in their hearts and do their best to meet expectations,” he said.
Biathlon
Czech authorities confirmed on Monday afternoon that this week’s World Biathlon Cup in South Moravia would be closed to spectators.
Darts
The Professional Darts Corporation said it currently has no plans to cancel any events, but has told players they can avoid shaking hands with their opponents while fans have been warned it “may be more difficult to obtain autographs or pictures with players”.