The Champions League game between PSG and Borussia Dortmund will be played behind closed doors on Wednesday due to the coronavirus threat and all games in the French top division are due to be played without fans – or a maximum of 1,000 spectators – until 15 April.
Paris police announced on Monday morning that the last-16 tie between PSG and Borussia Dortmund would be played behind closed doors and the French sports minister, Roxana Maracineanu, announced a few hours later that the games in the top division would have a maximum of 1,000 fans attending.
All domestic sporting activity at all levels in Italy has been suspended until 3 April at the earliest, the Italian national Olympic committee (CONI) has announced. This includes all matches in Serie A, Italy’s highest football division, but does not cover Italian clubs or national teams competing in international competitions such as the Champions League. The PSG v Dortmund game is the second of the competition that will be played without fans as last week Valencia announced that their second leg against Atalanta would also be played behind closed doors.
RB Leipzig, meanwhile, said on Monday that supporters would be allowed in to watch their last-16 tie against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
The coronavirus has wreaked havoc with the football calendar, especially in Asia and Fifa, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have agreed to postpone the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in March and June. However the governing body said some games may still go ahead provided that the safety of all individuals involved meets the required standards and that the member associations due to play each other mutually agree.
