Welcome to the Evening Standard's LIVE coverage as the coronavirus crisis continues to heavily impact sport across the globe.
Latest coronavirus sports news...
- Arsenal to reopen training ground on limited basis
- Aston Villa players agree 25 per cent wage deferral
- Chelsea decide against first-team pay cut
- PL return closer with breakthrough in TV talks
- Dutch Eredivisie season cancelled
- Cricket season delayed until July 1
Can't see the Coronavirus sport news LIVE blog? Click here to access our desktop page.
Eredivisie season cancelled
The Dutch Football Association has decided to end the season with no champions, no promotion or relegation and European qualification decided on the existing league table.
The KNVB has called time on the campaign following the Dutch Prime Minister's decision to ban all sporting events until September due to the coronavirus, with Ajax missing out on being crowned champions.
RKC Waalwijk, who were almost to certain to be relegated, have avoided the drop along with Alan Pardew's ADO Den Haag, who also looked vulnerable. No teams from the Eerste Divisie will be promoted.
As per UEFA's directive for qualification for their European competitions to be decided on "sporting merit", the KNVB has opted to use the league table as it stood when the season was suspended in March.
That means Ajax and AZ Alkmaar, who were separated by goal difference only, go into the Champions League, with Ajax entering at the final stage of qualifying.
Third-placed Feyenoord will qualify for the Europa League group stage while PSV and Willem II head into the second qualifying round for the Europa League, subject to confirmation from UEFA.
European Athletics Championships in Paris cancelled
The European Athletics Championships scheduled for Paris in August has become the latest high-profile event to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A local organising committee (LOC) and the French Athletics Federation (FFA) had been looking at ways to hold the event this year but the ongoing situation means the event at Charlety Stadium from August 25-30 has been scrapped.
With Munich set to host the championships in 2022, it was decided against following the lead of the Olympics and World Championships and postponing the event by 12 months.
European Athletics interim president Dobromir Karamarinov said: "It is with great regret that we announce the cancellation of the Paris 2020 European Athletics Championships."
Bundesliga could return in May
The Bundesliga could resume as early as next month subject to approval from the German government while Uefa says play-offs could decide Champions League and Europa League qualification in countries across Europe.
Teams in Germany's top two divisions have already returned to training as the country begins to relax some of its social distancing restrictions imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus.
They are now working towards completing the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign by June 30, the German Football League (DFL) said in a statement released on Thursday.
Completing the season would mean German clubs could receive scheduled payments from broadcast partners, though the DFL statement admitted that if the season cannot restart or is forced to stop again, it could lead to further economic difficulties for German football.
The return to action will be underpinned by a rigorous testing programme, in a country which has been praised for its high level of testing compared to the United Kingdom and other European countries.
The DFL headed off criticism that its planned testing programme would impinge on testing in other settings, saying what it was preparing for would account for only 0.4 per cent of overall test capacity in the country.
Uefa set rules for Champions League and Europa League qualification
Uefa's executive committee set out guidelines on Thursday for its member associations on how qualification for the 2020-21 continental competitions could be determined in those leagues unable to play the 2019-20 season to a finish.
It stated that if competitions cannot be completed in full, then the next option should be to restart "with a different format in a manner which would still facilitate clubs to qualify on sporting merit".
It leaves it open to its associations to decide on an appropriate format, but it could mean the introduction of mini-leagues or play-offs featuring teams in the mix for Champions League or Europa League qualification.
Competitions which cannot restart at all must provide "legitimate" grounds for doing so. This would be either an order from government or other authority prohibiting sporting activity from taking place, or an insurmountable economic problem which makes finishing the season impossible because it would threaten the long-term financial stability of a competition or its clubs.
Uefa confirmed that the Women's European Championship has been put back from the summer of 2021 to the summer of 2022 and will be staged from July 6-31.
Uefa president Alexsander Ceferin said moving the tournament on a year would provide the tournament with "the spotlight it deserves".
