Manchester United's Europa League game against LASK will take place behind closed doors, it has been confirmed.
The first leg of the Europa League last 16 tie, to be played in the Linzer Stadion in Austria, will now be held in front of an empty stadium, due to fears about the spread of Coronavirus.
The spread of the disease across Europe has forced Champions League games between Barcelona and Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, and Bayern Munich and Chelsea are being played behind closed doors this week.
All football matches in Italy and Spain have been placed under the same measures for a period of time.
And after reports emerged on Tuesday morning that the first leg of United's European clash could go the same way, LASK confirmed the news in a statement .
It said: "LASK has announced that the home game scheduled for Thursday (6.55 p.m.) against Man United must take place without a spectator. The association will provide further information after publication of the relevant decree."
Around 900 United fans have bought away tickets for the game but are expected to be fully reimbursed. The announcement comes after Austrian officials banned outdoors gatherings of more than 500 people.
After a meeting of the Austrian government on Tuesday morning and a statement from Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian football league said games behind closed doors would "only be considered when there's no other options available" and that all other possibilities "will be exhausted" before closed doors games become a possibility.
But LASK in accordance with UEFA have taken the distance to prohibit fans from the stadium.
