Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has spoken out about how coronavirus could impact the remaining matches in the Premier League season.
There has been over 300 confirmed cases, with the number of deaths hitting five on Monday, while in Europe the spread has also caused major problems.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Spain's La Liga would be the latest league to see matches played behind closed doors, following similar action in Italy's Serie A, France's Ligue 1 and Germany's Bundesliga.
There is a risk that similar action could occur in the Premier League before the end of the season but Neville believes the action is not ideal, suggesting a full suspension is the better approach.
"I do NOT support matches played behind closed doors. If it’s necessary to shut down stadiums the associations must find a way of delaying the season and playing the games when it is safe to do so to protect the revenues for clubs that require this income to survive," he posted on Twitter.
In a follow up tweet, he added: For league clubs that can’t afford this disruption, money is everything! This keeps people safe and protects the Revenue the clubs need.
"Playing behind closed doors is not an option in my opinion. Some clubs would require short term loans that could be repaid when the games do get played."
Chelsea are set to play the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie with Bayern Munich behind closed doors after German authorities took action in response to the virus.
Tottenham Hotspur's away clash with RB Leipzig could become one of the final games to be played with fans in the stadium this season for a Bundesliga club.
Arsenal have also been dragged into a coronavirus outbreak after the owner of Olympiacos, the club that knocked them out of the Europa League at the Emirates Stadium, tested positive for the virus.
Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis was seen in the directors box, dressing room and the press areas as well as on the pitch where he celebrated his team's victory 12 days ago.
The north London club have confirmed that they have taken steps to deep clean the affected areas of the stadium but that none of their staff have reported symptoms.
In a statement Arsenal said: "We continue to follow strict protocols with regard to Coronavirus. We’re following the Government health guidelines and have additional procedures in place to protect our players and staff."
