The Champions League last-16 tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund will be played behind closed doors, confirmed the Paris Police on Monday. The decision had been taken to combat the spread of the pandemic coronavirus. After the issue of the statement by Paris police, the club statement read that they will meet the necessary conditions prescribed by the police in order to stop the widespread of the virus. The club statement also went on to add:
“Supporters who have purchased their tickets, as well as members, will be informed very soon of the measures proposed by Paris Saint-Germain.
“The club thanks all supporters for their understanding and their support for the team.”
Also, on the other hand, the fixture between the Catalan giants and Italian outfit, Napoli which is to be held on 18th of March will be held behind the closed doors. This is after the recommendation by the regional government of Catalonia.
If Barcelona – Napoli will be played behind closed doors due to outbreak of coronavirus, it will be the second time in the club's history. In October 2017, the Blaugrana club played Las Palmas in front of no fans because of political reasons. [md] pic.twitter.com/JA6ayw0i8X
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 10, 2020
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said regarding the coronavirus issue:
“We are dealing with it and we are confident we can deal with it,”
“You don’t know how many big concerns we have: we have security concerns, political instability and one is also the virus.”
“Let’s try to be optimistic, not think about dark scenarios – there’s time for that later.”
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the club has confirmed that Barcelona‘s Champions League tie next week against Napoli will be played behind closed doors. The decision to play behind closed doors has been taken after Serie A games were suspended until further notice. Also, the recent statement released tells us that the Serie A for the season is suspended and Champions will be selected on the basis of play-offs. After China, Italy is the country that is seriously affected due to the outbreak.
According to the recent reports, the latest game which will be played behind the closed doors will be the German giants, Bayern Munich and English Premier League club Chelsea. The German authorities issued the statement on Tuesday that the games which are expected to have more than 1000 fans are cancelled until April 19.
BREAKING: The match between #Bayern and #Chelsea is expected to be played behind closed doors due to Corona Virus fears. #UCL
– via @cfbayern pic.twitter.com/tdl52woSF4
— Talk Chelsea (@talkchelsea) March 9, 2020
Assuming that there are no more concerns regarding the COVID-19 and the game goes on, the tie will be held at Bavarians’ home, Allianz Arena where the club has a handful lead of 3-0 and will be rearing to make into the next round. However, Frank Lampard’s side will be without the traveling fans.
One can feel how the virus is threatening the existence of the sport. Is there any point behind playing the closed doors as any sport is made by the fans, for the fans and is of the fans. Should all the leagues across the world be postponed or suspended for a while? Comment your opinion below
