International Soccer - General Discussion

Ligue 1 has been forced to cancel the 2019/20 campaign due to the Coronavirus pandemic. French football bosses will reportedly meet in May to determine whether to enact promotion and relegation as well as which teams can qualify for next season's European competitions. With 23.293 confirmed deaths from 165.842 cases of Covid-19, France has been one of the worst-affected regions by the pandemic, much like the United Kingdom where 157.149 tests have returned positive with 21.092 people known to have died. On Tuesday afternoon, French prime minister Edouard Philippe announced that all sporting events will be cancelled until September. And RMC report on Ligue 1 preparing to decide on the fate of clubs across the top tiers next month. Like several other European countries including the UK and Italy, French sides had hoped to return to training in May with a view to completing the season in June. However authorities have banned any sporting events taking place, even behind closed doors. The September deadline now set may not allow Paris Saint-Germain to finish their Champions League campaign with the capital club already in the quarter-finals before the touted return of the competition for August. PSG are also 12 points clear in the Ligue 1 title race and it remains to be seen whether they will be rewarded for their efforts. Marseille and Rennes sit in the other two Champions League qualification spots, ahead of Lille and Reims in the Europa League places. UEFA have asked leagues to come up with their own plans to award European qualification places on "sporting merit", meaning a full table completed on points-per-game or even a round of play-offs. The vast majority of clubs still have ten games left to play in addition to the Coupe de France final, between PSG and Saint-Etienne. Nimes, Amiens and Toulouse occupy the Ligue 1 relegation spots, the latter having won just three of 28 games all season. In Ligue 2, a tight promotion race has Lorient leading Lens before Ajaccio, Troyes and Clermont Foot sit in the three play-off positions, the top-five altogether separated by just five points.

We have no official Thread for the Coronavirus outbreak so this is as best a place to share my worries and concerns. Like most people in the world I have been watching in horror as this disease as somehow managed to escalate all the way from Wuhan, China and like most people when I seen the news a few months ago I thought what a tragedy but thank god we are miles away and safe. I couldn't have been more wrong in my assumptions as minor outbreaks in other countries close to China then started to occur the world over and become major.

The worst effected country at present being Italy, my heart was bleeding watching the tragic news reels coming in. What is happening is absolutely terrifying. In the Tayside area where I live which covers the Perth and Dundee regions we currently have 31 known cases, none of which has become fatal as of yet. The total number of deaths so far in Scotland stands at 6 with 144 in the UK as a whole. We have all been asked to avoid social contact and as of today all pubs, restaurants, gyms, cinemas, leisure centres have been ordered to close with immediate effect by the UK Government and devolved Parliaments.

As of yet nobody really knows or fully understands the real reasons as to how such a catastrophic disease managed to manifest itself and infect the world over. Plenty of theories are doing the rounds on the internet but it would be foolish for anybody to come to their own conclusions until we fully have all the facts. My only concern is that no more innocent lives are lost and that everybody does their bit to contain the spread of this terrible infliction on mankind and sincerely hope that nobody on this forum becomes the next causality.

stay safe everyone and pray that the situation resolves itself with no more loss of life.

Regards - Dave.

Rallkin123 wrote:I hope that you are safe and keeping healthy and well, Italianfan God bless Italy, a beautiful country with warm and friendly people.

I'm fine, thanks Rallkin and I hope everyone in this forum is safe and healthy too.
Let' s hope all the world will get rid from this virus as soon as possible.

I hope that you are safe and keeping healthy and well, Italianfan God bless Italy, a beautiful country with warm and friendly people.

Premier League bosses further postponed games in the division until April 30 at a Coronavirus summit on Thursday but underlined their commitment to finish the season. The FA board has also agreed for the June 1 limit to finish a professional season to be extended indefinitely for the 2019-20 season. The FA's rules and regulations state that "the season shall terminate not later than the 1 June" and "each competition shall, within the limit laid down by The FA, determine the length of its own playing season". However, the FA board has agreed for this limit to be extended indefinitely for the 2019-20 season in relation to professional football, meaning games could, in theory, run much later into the year. Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that the meeting, which involved senior figures from all 20 top-flight clubs and Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, was unlikely to result in a firm decision on the outcome of outstanding domestic issues such as relegation, league placings and any confirmation of Liverpool as this season's champions. Football across Europe has been put on hold due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which has left many nations in a state of lockdown. All Premier League fixtures had been suspended until April 4 at the earliest. Sources also told ESPN on Wednesday that the meeting was primarily designed to ensure that communication continues between all parties, particularly after UEFA's announcements earlier this week.

UEFA today announced the postponement of its flagship national team competition, UEFA EURO 2020, due to be played in June and July this year. The health of all those involved in the game is the priority, as well as to avoid placing any unnecessary pressure on national public services involved in staging matches. The move will help all domestic competitions, currently on hold due to the COVID-19 emergency, to be completed. All UEFA competitions and matches (including friendlies) for clubs and national teams for both men and women have been put on hold until further notice. The UEFA EURO 2020 Play-off matches and international friendlies, scheduled for the end of March, will now be played in the international window at the start of June, subject to a review of the situation. A working group has been set up with the participation of leagues and club representatives to examine calendar solutions that would allow for the completion of the current season and any other consequence of the decisions made today. The decisions, taken by UEFA’s Executive Committee, followed videoconference meetings held today with the Presidents and General Secretaries of the 55 national associations, as well as representatives of the European Club Association, European Leagues and FIFPro Europe, convened by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, to find a coherent plan to break the logjam of fixtures building up due to the spread of the virus across the continent. Announcing the decisions, Aleksander Čeferin said: “We are at the helm of a sport that vast numbers of people live and breathe that has been laid low by this invisible and fast-moving opponent. It is at times like these, that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism. “The health of fans, staff and players has to be our number one priority and in that spirit, UEFA tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely and I am proud of the response of my colleagues across European football. There was a real spirit of co-operation, with everyone recognising that they had to sacrifice something in order to achieve the best result. “It was important that, as the governing body of European football, UEFA led the process and made the biggest sacrifice. Moving EURO 2020 comes at a huge cost for UEFA but we will do our best to ensure that the vital funding for grassroots, women’s football and the development of the game in our 55 countries is not affected. Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole. “Football is an uplifting and powerful force in society. The thought of celebrating a pan-European festival of football in empty stadia, with deserted fan zones while the continent sits at home in isolation, is a joyless one and one we could not accept to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the competition. “I would like to thank the European Club Association, the European Leagues and FIFPro Europe for their great work today and for their cooperation. I would also like to thank from the bottom of my heart the 55 national associations, their Presidents and General Secretaries, and my colleagues from the Executive Committee for their support and wise decisions. The fine detail will be worked out in the coming weeks but the basic principles have been agreed and that is a major step forward. We have all shown that we are responsible leaders. We have demonstrated solidarity and unity. Purpose over profit. We’ve achieved this today. “I would also like to thank Alejandro Dominguez and CONMEBOL, who have agreed to move CONMEBOL’s 2020 Copa America in order to follow the recommendations issued by the international public health organisations to enact extreme measures and as a result of EURO 2020 being postponed. This means that clubs and leagues in Europe will have as little disruption as possible in the availability of their players. These joint efforts and especially this coordinated and responsible decision, are deeply appreciated by the whole European football community. “I would like to thank FIFA and its President, Gianni Infantino, who has indicated it will do whatever is required to make this new calendar work. In the face of this crisis, football has shown its best side with openness, solidarity and tolerance.” UEFA EURO 2020 was scheduled to take place in twelve cities across Europe from 12 June to 12 July 2020. The proposed new dates are 11 June - 11 July 2021. UEFA would like to reassure existing ticket buyers and hospitality clients that if they cannot attend the tournament in 2021, the face value of their tickets and packages will be refunded in full. Decisions on dates for other UEFA competitions, whether club or national team for men or women, will be taken and announced in due course.

The German Football League confirmed games in the top two divisions have been cancelled from this weekend and will recommend a continued suspension until
April 2. Originally it had been planned for all matches in both the Bundesliga and the German second division to be postponed from March 17, with games this weekend played behind closed doors. Hannover's fixture against Dresden had, though, been cancelled after two Hannover players tested positive for coronavirus. The German Football League has confirmed its top two divisions have been suspended. The DFL said in a statement on Friday there had been "suspicions of an infection with the Coronavirus in the vicinity of several clubs and their teams and that further infections cannot be ruled out". The governing body's statement added : "The goal is still to end the season by the summer, from a sporting point of view, but especially because an early end of the season could have existential consequences for some clubs". Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara had earlier urged the German football bosses to stop "fooling around" as he criticised the original decision to hold Bundesliga matches as normal this weekend. "This is crazy. Please stop fooling around and land on reality", he said "Let's be honest, there are much more important priorities than any sport".

UEFA has suspended next week’s Champions League and Europa League fixtures. Manchester City’s match against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium had already been postponed along with Juventus’ second leg against Lyon in Turin. But UEFA has now taken the decision to halt all games that were due to be played next week. Barcelona were due to host Napoli at Camp Nou, while Chelsea were set to travel to face Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Meanwhile in the Europa League, eight fixtures were scheduled to be played next Thursday. UEFA has also confirmed that next week’s draws for the Champions League and Europa League Quarter-finals have been cancelled. A statement from UEFA read : "In the light of developments due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe and related decisions made by different governments, all UEFA club competitions matches scheduled next week are postponed".

La Liga have taken the action to suspend all games for at least the next two weeks in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. The news comes after a meeting was held between the Spanish Football Federation, La Liga itself and the players' union. The Spanish top flight had originally planned to play the next two rounds of matches behind closed doors. But, under guidance from the government, they have now decided to suspend all matches for the remainder of the month. It also comes after Real Madrid announced they would be going into quarantine after a member of their basketball team tested positive for Coronavirus. The La Liga statement
read : "Given the circumstances that are coming to light, referring to the quarantine established in Real Madrid and the possible cases in players from other clubs, LaLiga considers it appropriate to continue to the next phase of the protocol of action against COVID-19. In accordance with the measures established in Royal Decree 664/1997 of May 12, it agrees to postpone at least the next two match days. Said decision will be re-evaluated after the completion of the quarantines decreed in the affected clubs and other possible situations that may arise.

Authorities in France have followed the lead of European counterparts by announcing that all games in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 will be suspended indefinitely amid the ongoing concerns over coronavirus. The outbreak of Covid-19 has forced schedules around the world to be assessed. That is an approach now being favoured by French football, with the Professional Football League (LFP) announcing a complete shutdown in operations across its top two tiers. A statement from LFP read : "Following the announcements of the President of the Republic in order to respond to the health crisis linked to Covid-19, the LFP Board of Directors unanimously decided this Friday, March 13 to immediately suspend the Ligue 1 Conforama championships and Domino's Ligue 2 until further notice. As the President of the Republic pointed out yesterday, collective interest must be placed above everything. The urgency today is to curb the epidemic, protect the most vulnerable, and avoid displacement. At the end of the meeting scheduled by UEFA on March 17, the LFP Board of Directors will meet".

The Premier League, the Football League and the Women’s Super League have suspended all matches until 3 April in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. An unprecedented development, it follows the revelation overnight that several Premier League clubs have members of staff, including players and coaches, who are displaying symptoms of the virus. Premier League and English football shuts down until 3 April due to Coronavirus. The Football Association has also announced that the two England friendlies due to be played at the end of March, against Denmark and Italy at Wembley, have been called off, saying that "refunds will be processed to all ticket buyers within 14 working days". The Premier League said in a statement : "The Premier League, FA, EFL and WSL have collectively agreed to postpone the professional game in England. Following a meeting of shareholders today, it was unanimously decided to suspend the Premier League with the intention of returning on 4 April, subject to medical advice and conditions at the time. In this unprecedented situation we are working closely with our clubs, Government, the FA and EFL and can reassure everyone the health and welfare of players, staff and supporters are our priority. Despite the challenges, it is the Premier League’s aim to reschedule the displaced fixtures, when it is safe to do so".

2019-20 UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE :
Round of 16 First Legs Results :

Istanbul Basaksehir FK 1 - FC København 0
Goal : 88' Visca (pen.)

Eintracht Frankfurt 0 - FC Basel 1893 3 PLAYED WITHOUT SPECTATORS, DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY
Goals : 27' Campo, 73' Bua, 85' Frei

Lask 0 - Manchester United FC 5 PLAYED WITHOUT SPECTATORS, DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY
Goals : 28' Ighalo, 58' James, 82' Mata, 90' + 2' Greenwood, 90' + 3' Pereira

Olympiacos FC 1 - Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 1 PLAYED WITHOUT SPECTATORS, DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY
Goals : 54' El Arabi (O), 67' Neto (W)
Red Card : 29' Semedo (O)

Rangers FC 1 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3
Goals : 37' Havertz (BL pen.), 67' Aranguiz (BL), 75' Edmundson ( R ), 88' Bailey (BL)

VfL Wolfsburg 1 - FC Shakthar Donetsk 2 PLAYED WITHOUT SPECTATORS, DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY
Goals : 17' Moraes (SD), 48' Brooks (W), 73' Marcos Antonio (SD)
Penalties Failed : 22' Kovalenko (SD), 45' + 2' Weghorst (W)

FC INTERNAZIONALE MILANO vs Getafe CF MATCH POSTPONED TO DATE DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY
Sevilla FC vs AS ROMA MATCH POSTPONED TO DATE DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY

Second Legs : Thursday, March 19th, if the competition won' t be suspended

Manchester City's Champions League last-16, second-leg tie with Real Madrid and Juventus' match against Olympique Lyonnais next week have been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Thursday. Real said earlier on Thursday that it had sent all of the members of its soccer and basketball teams home into quarantine after one of the sports club's basketball players tested positive for the coronavirus. Juventus defender Daniele Rugani tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, leading the Italian club to quarantine their entire squad. "Following the quarantine imposed on players of Juventus and Real Madrid, the matches will not take place as scheduled," UEFA said on Twitter. Both matches were due to take place on Tuesday, March 17.

2019-20 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - ROUND OF 16 :
Second Legs - Wednesday Matches Results :

Paris Saint-Germain 2 - Borussia Dortmund 0 - PLAYED WITHOUT SPECTATORS, DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY - First Leg : (1-2)
Goals : 28' Neymar, 45' + 1' Bernat
Red Card : 89' Emre Can (BD)

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN win 3-2 on aggregate and advance to Quarter-finals

Liverpool FC 2 - Club Atletico de Madrid 3 After Extra-Time, 1-0 after 90' - First Leg : (0-1)
Goals : 43' Wijnaldum (L), 94' Firmino (L), 97', 105' + 1' M. Llorente (AM), 120' + 1' Morata (AM)

CLUB ATLETICO DE MADRID win 4-2 on aggregate and advance to Quarter-finals

2019-20 Bundesliga - Week 21 Recovery, Played Without Spectators, due to COVID-19 Emergency : Borussia Monchengladbach 2 - Koln 1

Juventus have announced that Italy centre-back Daniele Rugani has tested positive for Coronavirus. The Serie A side said they are "activating all the isolation procedures required by law", including those who have come into contact with Rugani. The club added that Rugani, 25, is "currently asymptomatic". All sport in Italy is suspended until 3 April, with the country in lockdown because of the Coronavirus outbreak. Rugani has made only seven appearances for Juventus this season and was an unused substitute in his side's last match - a 2-0 win over Inter Milan held behind closed doors on Sunday. He has won four Serie A titles with Juve and played for Italy seven times, last featuring for the national team in 2018. This evening the Italian government announced more measures, including the closure of all shops except food stores and pharmacies. Italy has more than 12,000 confirmed cases and a death toll of 827. The Italian football federation said after a meeting on Tuesday that the Serie A season may not finish because of the Coronavirus outbreak. Alternative options include staging play-offs, not having a champion for 2019-20 or declaring the current standings final.

Tonight's game between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium has been postponed "as a precautionary measure" due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Premier League has said. The move came after a positive test for Covid-19 was returned by Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis, whose side played at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on February 27. Arsenal confirmed that some players were put into quarantine. "We are strictly following the government guidelines which recommend that anyone coming into close contact with someone with the virus should self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact," an Arsenal statement said. The Premier League said in a statement : "Following medical advice, Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC consider it is necessary to postpone their fixture due to be played this evening to give time to fully assess the situation. "The Premier League has therefore agreed that tonight's game will be rearranged. "We understand this will cause inconvenience and cost to fans planning to attend the game but Arsenal, Manchester City and the Premier League have agreed that the short notice of Mr Marinakis' infection means there is no alternative but to take the time to complete a proper assessment of risk". The League said the postponement was linked directly to Marinakis's infection, and there were currently no plans to postpone other matches. Wolves, meanwhile, are angry that UEFA has decided not to postpone their scheduled Europa League tie away to Olympiacos after Marinakis, who is also Nottingham Forest's majority owner, announced on Tuesday he had contracted the virus. Wolves' appeal to have Thursday's last-16 first leg called off was rejected by UEFA and the game will go ahead behind closed doors as the spread of coronavirus continues to affect sporting events. Despite Marinakis' diagnosis and his position at Forest, the English Football League insists there are no immediate plans to postpone any fixtures. A Forest statement said Marinakis had shown no symptoms when in Nottingham last week, during which time he attended the club's home game against Millwall on Friday night and reportedly met with the first-team squad. Confirming matches across its three divisions would continue as normal for the time being, an EFL statement said: "The League is in dialogue to fully ascertain the set of circumstances that existed when Mr Marinakis visited [Forest] last week and in conjunction with the club will make a determination on what measures are to be taken, if any, when full details are known".

UEFA have officially suspended the Europa League Round of 16 first leg games between Sevilla-Roma and Inter-Getafe due to the Coronavirus. The games looked in serious doubt as the Spanish government cancelled all flights to and from Italy in an effort to contain the Coronavirus in Spain. The Seville authoritises refused to permit Roma’s plane entry into the country in order to play the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 match, whilst Getafe refused to leave Spain to play Inter, with the first leg at San Siro. UEFA have now announced that both games have been officially suspended. These are the first two games suspended by UEFA in the midst of the Coronavirus. Atalanta played in Valencia in last night’s Champions League Round of 16 second leg, however the travel restrictions between the two countries only came into effect from midnight, thus allowing the game to go ahead.

2019-20 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - ROUND OF 16 :
Second Legs - Tuesday Matches Results :

Valencia CF 3 - ATALANTA BC 4 PLAYED WITHOUT SPECTATORS, DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY - First Leg : (1-4)
Goals : 3' (pen.), 43' (pen.), 71', 82' Ilicic (A), 21', 51' Gameiro (V), 67' Ferran Torres (V)

ATALANTA BC win 8-4 on aggregate and advance to Quarter-finals

RB Leipzig 3 - Tottenham Hotspur FC 0 - First Leg : (1-0)
Goals : 10', 21' Sabitzer, 87' Forsberg

RB LEIPZIG win 4-0 on aggregate and advance to Quarter-finals

2019-20 La Liga - Week 24 Recovery, Played Without Spectators, due to COVID-19 Emergency : Eibar 1 - Real Sociedad 2

RESULTS MONDAY NIGHT MATCHES :

2019-20 Serie A - Week 26 : Sassuolo 3 - Brescia 0 PLAYED WITHOUT SPECTATORS, DUE TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY
Goals : 45', 61' Caputo, 74' Boga

2019-20 Premier League - Week 29 : Leicester 4 - Aston Villa 0

According to FC Basel, the Eintracht Frankfurt Europa League game originally scheduled for March 19 cannot take place in Basel due to the new type of Coronavirus. The cantonal police in Basel-Stadt decided this after consulting the crisis team. It was initially unclear whether the game would take place and where. The second round of the second leg should have taken place in the St. Jakob-Park in Basel on Thursday of the following week (9:00 p.m.). The managing director of the club, Roland Heri, said in a video : “It hurts the football heart, we stand behind the decision of the authority. It is about social responsibility in this situation. We will discuss what that means now with the authorities and Frankfurt. UEFA also plays a role in this. ”The European Football Union has already pledged to find a solution. “Even with a so-called ghost game, experience has shown that several hundred fans of the visiting club would travel to Basel and gather in front of the stadium during the game,” the club announcement said. This would “undermine the ban of the Federal Council in this case,” the club said.