Daily Mail - 03.03.2020

79

Daily Mail, Tuesday, March 3, 2020 QQQ

England are confident the

coronavirus crisis will not affect

this month’s tour of Sri lanka,

but they will avoid handshakes

throughout the trip. ‘after the

illnesses that swept through the

squad in South africa, we are

aware of the importance of

keeping contact to a minimum,’

said captain Joe Root. ‘We’re

using the fist bump instead.

We’ve been given advice from

our medical team to prevent

spreading germs. We expect the

tour to continue as planned.’

79

MATT

HUGHES

Chief Sports

Reporter

in Amsterdam

FORMULA ONE

EXCLUSIVE

By JONATHAN McEVOY

Now Premier League may

bar fans over virus fears

T

h E Fa a n d P r e m i e r

league are exploring the

costs and implications of

staging games behind

closed doors later this

season to cope with any mass
spread of the coronavirus.
Both organisations will be led by the
government’s public health advice before
making any alterations to the fixture list,
but have held talks about what to do if
large gatherings are prohibited — with
behind-closed-doors games emerging as
a possibility.
The Fa have the added complication
of hosting a friendly international at
Wembley on March 27 between England
and Italy, where six Serie a matches were
postponed last weekend due to the
spread of the virus. The fixture will
remain on unless the Fa are advised to
act by the government.
Cancellations would result in multi-mil-
lion-pound losses, so the talks have
focused on how games could be staged
without fans, which would also be the
preferred option of broadcasters.
during the discussions, the Fa have
raised the need to offer solidarity pay-
ments to lower-division clubs in the
event of games being held behind closed
doors, because those sides rely on gate
revenue far more than their Premier
league counterparts.
UEFa discussed the coronavirus
only briefly at yesterday’s Executive
Committee meeting in amsterdam,
despite the threat it poses to this
summer’s European Championship and
the rest of the club season.
The opening game of Euro 2020 between
Italy and Turkey is due to take place in
Rome on June 12, but UEFa will not be
rushed into a decision. They will act on
the advice of governments.
The issue was raised by president
aleksander Ceferin, but a source said the
discussion lasted only two minutes.
a UEFa spokesman said: ‘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.
‘There’s no threat to any more matches
that I’ve been made aware of, other
than the ones that have already been
changed.’
It also emerged last night that the
Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2020 play-off
against Slovakia on March 26 could be
played behind closed doors because of
the spiralling issue of coronavirus.

BRITISh CyClIng chief Stephen

Park has suggested that the

Tokyo Olympics could take place

without fans because of the

coronavirus epidemic.

Sportsmail revealed yesterday

that the International Olympic

Committee, World health Organi-

sation and leaders of sports feder-

ations had discussed holding the

games behind closed doors as an

alternative to calling it off.

and British Cycling performance

director Park has become the first

figure from one of great Britain’s

Olympic sports to speak publicly

about the prospect.

Supporters have been banned

from a number of sporting events

in Japan, including baseball,

t e n n i s , s u m o w r e s t l i n g a n d

horseracing.

Senior IOC member dick Pound

claimed the Olympics could be

cancelled if coronavirus was still

prevalent in May, but Park thinks

shutting fans out of the games in

July and august is more likely.

‘Right now, I’m really confident it

will go ahead,’ he said. ‘Will it mean

it might be different? Possibly.

‘look at the World Cup skiing in

t w o w e e k s ’ t i m e i n C o r t i n a

(in Italy); they are doing it on a

closed circuit with no fans, and

that’s going to an area that doesn’t

have any infections.

‘So might some of those things

happen? Possibly. Equally, we are

not worried about them. We are

making sure that we don’t let it

become a distraction or overtake

the preparation. We are full steam

ahead expecting to be there in

July in Tokyo.’

Park said British Cycling are

taking their own steps to try to

prevent the virus affecting their

riders and staff.

‘We have worked to improve the

cleanliness of the changing rooms,’

he added, speaking from the Track

World Championships in Berlin.

‘They are being upgraded while

we are here, so when we get back

they will be going into brand new,

sterilised changing rooms. We are

not taking any risks.’

England’s Italian job still on HANdSHAkE BAN

fOr rOOT ANd CO

CORONAVIRUS CHAOS

CYCLING

By dAVId COVErdALE

RUGBY UNION

By WILL kELLEHEr

CRICKET

FORMULA One bosses will lay

on a double-crewed charter

flight to take the sport’s

travelling circus from the

first to the second race of

the forthcoming season in an

attempt to beat the threat of

coronavirus.

F1 will hire a special plane to

transport several hundred

crucial staff, with two pilots

on board. The first pilot will

fly the jet half the way from

Melbourne, venue of the

opening round on March 15,

to a staging post en route to

Bahrain, the next race the

following weekend,

17 and a half hours away. The

second pilot will then take

over flying.

This is to circumnavigate the

potential screening process

on arrival in Bahrain.

Authorities in the Gulf

kingdom will subject

passengers in contact with

countries that are notably

affected by the illness to a

three-hour examination in a

lounge specifically

designated for medical tests.

That means all Ferrari staff —

given their proximity to a

severe virus outbreak in

Italy, where more than 50

people have died — will be

obliged to go through the

ordeal. But those who are

free to travel without that

restriction will be able to

walk straight through the

security gates in Bahrain.

even if the flight touches

down in Singapore or Hong

Kong — the exact details are

being finalised — nobody will

disembark, meaning teams

— including drivers,

engineers and mechanics —

will be allowed to enter the

Bahrain capital, Manama,

without delay. It is

understood that the

protocol involving refuelling

papers will be expedited.

Given its global reach, F1 is

particularly vulnerable to

the virus, with millions of

dollars already wiped off its

share price.

A spokesman for the Bahrain

International Circuit (BIC)

said: ‘We are working with all

relevant government

departments to mitigate the

threat of coronavirus.

‘Ministries have activated a

number of public health

measures, including but not

limited to restricting travel

from high-risk areas,

introducing an extensive

screening programme and

establishing quarantine

facilities for suspected cases.

‘It is in the context of these

initiatives that the BIC is

confident preparations will

result in a safe and successful

grand prix later this month.’

F1 flight to dodge screenings

SpECTATOrS

COULd BE

SHUT OUT Of

OLYMpICS TOO

enGLAnD are set to play their

final Six nations match in Italy

on March 14 despite the

coronavirus outbreak.

The match at Rome’s Stadio

Olimpico was thought to be

under threat last week after

Ireland called off their home

game against the Azzurri,

scheduled for this Saturday.

Six nations chiefs have stalled

on a decision after an

emergency meeting in Paris,

but they are open to moving

the women’s and Under 20

fixtures, set to be played on the

same weekend in northern

Italy’s worst-affected areas.

Any further cancellations or

postponements would throw

the tournament into chaos.

Games would have to be

rearranged in a tight calendar

or voided, which would raise

doubts over the validity of an

incomplete championship.

Festival ‘full steam ahead’

CHeLT enHAM FeSTIVAL chiefs

insist plans for next week’s

meeting are still ‘full steam

ahead’ despite reports of more

coronavirus cases yesterday.

Regional director Ian Renton

confirmed they will be led by

the government in response to

the spread of the virus.

Betfair’s odds for the first day

to be cancelled drifted to 4-1

last night after Prime Minister

Boris Johnson said it was

‘business as usual’.

‘Cobra has met today and the

noises remain encouraging

that they see no reason to stop

major events,’ Renton said.

‘We have 2,200 toilets at the

racecourse with individual

hand basins and we will make

sure the staffing of them is

raised to a greater level.

‘We’re looking at every way to

make sure hygiene is at its best

for racegoers.’

RACING

By SAM TUrNEr

PAUL NEWMAN

Putting it

out there:

Hamilton

greets

Dutch fans

rex feaTures