Coronavirus in sport latest

The Yeovil v Barnet game is the most recently to have been called off and Barnet have just posted the following statement.

“The club unfortunately must confirm that this afternoon’s Vanarama National League fixture with Yeovil Town has been postponed.

“We currently have four staff that are showing symptoms of COVID-19 who are following government advice and self-isolating. As a consequence, we have taken measures to put all First Team staff into self-isolation.

“The club has a duty of care to all players, staff and supporters – this is always at the forefront of every decision the club makes. “

So teams in the National League are able to play, although there have still been a number of games called off already.

These are the games that have been cancelled so far.

National League: Barrow v Wrexham, Boreham Wood v Torquay, Yeovil v Barnet.

National League North: Chester v Boston United, Gloucester City v Blyth Spartans, Leamington v Kidderminster, Southport v Gateshead, York City v Altrincham.

To repeat, it is the Premier League and EFL clubs plus the Football Association who took Friday’s decision. Government advice on Thursday was that matches could continue.

The National League has taken the option to follow government advice. Notts County average attendances of more than 5,000, so there are plenty of fans who follow that level of the game anyway.

“If clubs get overwhelmed by spectators, I guess the National League may have a rethink but for now, for them, it is business as usual.

There is no elite football in England today but you can still watch Football Focus on BBC One from midday, with Dion Dublin and Tim Cahill among the guests as our pundits discuss the impact of coronavirus and see what will happen for the rest of the season.

Jermaine Jenas

Ex-Tottenham and Newcastle midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

It’s impossible to please everybody, so it has to be a
country by country situation. If you went club by club in the Premier League right
now, only 50% would be happy if it was to finish right now.

Liverpool
would miss out on the league and Sheffield United and Wolves would not be able
to play in the Champions League.

Crowds at the Cheltenham Festival were down about five
per cent on last year, but total attendance over the four days topped 250,000.

Cheltenham racecourse boss Ian Renton said: “The team
here has done a highly competent job in putting on the extra precautions and
measures in line with the advice of the medical authorities, and the crowd has
responded really responsibly.

“We advised people to follow Government health
guidelines and stay away if they were in a vulnerable category, and a fair
number opted to take that advice. We totally respected their decision and thank
them for taking sensible precautions.

“For the large numbers who came here it has remained
a wonderful four days of racing, the weather has been kind and they have
witnessed some outstanding performances by horses and jockeys.”

The next major fixture is the Grand National meeting at
Aintree, which is scheduled to take place from Thursday 2 to Saturday 4 April.

It is understood that options which have been discussed
by organisers include whether the event could be viably staged behind closed
doors, although no decisions have been made.

Tranmere chief Mark Palios: “We’re in unprecedented times. Everybody is trying to do the best they can.

“Financially, having to re-lay a pitch because it’s costly… practically we need 12 weeks to reconstruct a pitch. You have to think of contingency plans – can we play games we were going to play at home away from home?

“Everybody in the game and sports fans want to see the competition completed.

“I think moving back Euro 2020 by a year would be a good thing to do.

“We’ve given our players a week off. Our sports scientists have devised specific programs for players if they are quarantined.

On lost revenue: “Each match will cost us £35,000 plus the money from the food and beverage.”

Jermaine Jenas

Ex-Tottenham and Newcastle midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

Peterborough United chairman
Darragh MacAnthony (he has two players in isolation):

“The two players we have in isolation were asked to ring the
111 number. They’ve been told to stay at home without being told how to get a
test to determine if they have it.

“That doesn’t help our club because our players are all back
in training next week because the last thing we need is a player who has it,
passing it to all the players and staff. So I’ve been scrambling around as has
our CEO trying to find out how we get tested. We ring our local doctor they
can’t tell us that they can come in and give everyone a test at the training
ground. Eventually I tell our CEO ring Chelsea, Everton, Arsenal and even
Millwall who also I believe were doing testing just to get an idea of how we
can do testing across the board.

“We rang our private health insurance again they could not
give us the right advice. So in the end our CEO came across a private company
referred to us. And I approved us spending close to £6k, the testing kits were
£150 each which is mad. So those kits are going to be delivered to us on
Monday. We are then going to test the players in isolation at the training
ground, the staff, and then it will be 48 hours before we know if anyone
has it so we can make a plan for what we do for the next few weeks while the
season is on hardest.”

Jermaine Jenas

Ex-Tottenham and Newcastle midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

Here’s England skipper Joe Root on the abandonment of England’s tour to Sri Lanka: “There was an element of relief. The right decision has been made.

“You could see looking at the players that their minds were elsewhere thinking about people back home. Now that we can go and look after families and be with loved ones that’s put a lot of guys at ease.

“Naturally there was a lot of talk in the dressing room and it got to a stage where it overshadowed the cricket.

“Looking at how quickly things have happened at home, you’re thinking about family and friends who might be a bit more vulnerable and that’s hard when you’re a long way away. “It was clear it was getting in the way of performance and affecting the mental well-being of the guys.”

This is a complex area. Obviously players whose contracts run beyond the end of this season will get bonuses based on the current campaign, whenever it finishes.

However, for those whose deals expire on 30 June, it is a different situation entirely. In addition, the transfer window will be open.

These issues will form part of the fall-out from Uefa’s meeting on Tuesday, which is expected to outline the best way forward for the European game as a whole. The players – as well as the leagues – will be represented.

Yes. And as long as is required. If the current season doesn’t finish until the summer, there will need to be flexibility about when the next campaigns start.

A Uefa source told me yesterday that nothing was off the table. Anything is possible.