BERLIN – European football governing body UEFA remains relaxed
about the status of the pan-continental Euro 2020 despite the global
health situation following the coronavirus outbreak.
"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,"
UEFA spokesman Phil Townsend said after Monday's executive committee
meeting in Amsterdam.
"We're in constant contact with the WHO (World Health Organization)."
While UEFA hopes for business as usual, the Formula One season is
also set to start as planned on March 15 in Australia but MotoGP
suffered a second cancellation in Thailand.
UEFA's top committee did not consider concrete measures to be taken
at Euro 2020 or the possibility of the event being cancelled. Rather
the discussion was focussed on the play-offs, scheduled for March 26
and 31, in which 16 countries compete for the four remaining finals
berths.
The tournament kicks off in Rome on June 12 and is played in a dozen
countries to the London final on July 12.
But Townsend did play down how much influence UEFA may have on the
final decision depending on events.
"The authorities on the ground are in control of the situation, not
UEFA," he said. "UEFA is a sports governing body."
Italy has seen several top-flight Serie A matches scheduled for the
north of the country postponed in the last two weeks.
Monday's Serie A fixture between Sampdoria and Verona has become the
latest match delayed till May but Italian Cup semi-finals later this
week are currently to go ahead.
The semifinal in the Italy Cup football tournament between Juventus
Turin and AC Milan is to take place without fans from Milan due to
the coronavirus epidemic, according to a statement by Juventus
on Monday.
Fans from the Lombardy region, where the European outbreak of the
novel coronavirus is concentrated, will not be able to attend
Wednesday's game.
The ban also applies to people from Veneto and Emilia Romagna, and
also the Pesaro, Urbino and Savona regions, given the higher level of
infections in those areas.
Fans able to attend the matches were advised in the statement to come
early as extra time would be needed to check people's identity
documents.
Switzerland saw cancellations too, as all first and second-division
football matches scheduled for March were called off due to the
epidemic.
The 20 clubs that make up the Swiss Football League reached the
decision in Bern on Monday.
If the Swiss authorities' current ban on events - currently running
until March 15 - is not extended, football games will recommence on
April 4 and 5.
It was unclear on Monday whether the Europa League game between
Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Basel, planned for March 19, would go
ahead.
The UEFA congress and Nations League draw will take place as planned
in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
Teams and equipment are scheduled to arrive as usual in Australia in
the coming days despite the increasing number of Covid-19 infections
and entry bans enforced on several countries.
However, Italy - home to teams Ferrari and Alpha Tauri, and tyre
provider Pirelli - is not yet impacted by a ban.
The fourth race of the season, in China, has already been postponed
while grands prix in Bahrain and Vietnam are in doubt.
Australian race chief Andrew Westacott insisted "we are all systems
go" for the Melbourne event.
In contrast Thailand pulled the plug March 22 MotoGP a day after
Qatar scrapped the March 8 season-opener and the coming biathlon
World Cup in the Czech Republic will take place behind closed doors.
Thailand's Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters
Monday that the event has not been cancelled but it is indefinitely
postponed "until it's safe."
MotoGP organizers confirmed the decision, saying it was "evaluating"
the possibility of staging the race later in the season.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis announced the March 5-8 biathlon
World Cup in Nove Mesto would take place but without fans following a
meeting of the national security council in Prague.
Czech authorities will consider further measures regarding large
scale events in the coming days. Organizers had expected up to
100,000 people to attend.
The governing IBU said accepted the decision and reiterated it "will
follow any regulations and demands made by national authorities
regarding the spread of the coronavirus."
And the junior weightlifting world championships, due to start March
13 in Bucharest, have also been cancelled.
Governing body IWF said "the health and wellbeing of participants has
been a key priority," in accepting the request of the Romanian
national federation not to proceed.