European Cup Competition Risk

Li Jiayin, a special correspondent of Global Times in Germany and Spain, said on the 27th that 528 patients in Italy had tested positive for COVID-19. ESPN said that in order to further strengthen the control, the football matches in Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, Venezia Giulia, Liguria and Romagne will be held with no venue, which is expected to last until March 1. In addition, sports events held in Germany, Ireland and other European countries have been suspended or postponed, and the European Cup may also be affected.

Serie A clubs are worried about profits.

In last week's Serie A, four games were postponed due to the epidemic. In the second round of Europa League116 final, Ludo Gorec played against Inter Milan. After the former arrived in Milan, according to the requirements of the organizing Committee, all players, coaches and staff should wear masks. Except for competitions and training, they are not allowed to go out in the hotel, and the competition will be held empty. ESPN said that six matches in the 26th round of Serie A will be held empty this weekend, including the Tianwangshan match between Juventus and Inter Milan. Only team officials and media staff can participate. Sky Sports Italia said it would consider broadcasting the game on TV for free.

Empty matches will obviously damage the club's ticket revenue, which is a difficult problem faced by many clubs. The BBC said that some Serie A clubs are very worried about their profits. Take Juventus as an example, the team earned 53 million euros on the match day of the 20 18 to 20 19 season. Considering that European football will usher in the European Cup this summer, Serie A officials cannot further postpone more games, and this season needs to be completed as planned as much as possible.

The Italian Bicycle Authority said it was not sure whether the trip to Italy would be held as scheduled. The competition was originally scheduled to depart from Budapest on May 9 and will pass through several areas with serious epidemic in northern Italy. The Italian Ski Association has suspended all activities in the country, such as the World Ski Cup in Valle Dhaos Tower.

Sportando, a European media, said that the Italian Basketball Association has officially announced that the Italian men's basketball leagues A, A2 and B and the women's basketball leagues A 1 A2 will be suspended from next week. At the same time, the Italian Volleyball Association announced that national volleyball events, including men's volleyball and women's volleyball professional leagues, will be suspended before March 1.

The multinational competition was postponed.

Similar to the challenges facing Serie A, although UEFA has not decided to postpone the Champions League, its senior official Christine has said: "Now we have a preliminary idea, that is, let the game be empty." The German Football Association is also keeping close contact with the health department to evaluate and predict the development of the epidemic and the operation of the league. According to the Spanish newspaper AS, a Valencia fan was diagnosed as a COVID-19 patient, and he watched the first leg of the Champions League 1/8 final in Milan on 19. Italian Football previously claimed that four of the fans who went to the San Siro with Valencia had COVID-19's symptoms. Barcelona proposed to the Champions League Organizing Committee that the event originally scheduled to be held in Italy should be held in a European country unaffected by the epidemic. The Champions League Organizing Committee is considering this proposal, so the possibility of playing in a third country is not ruled out.

The World Badminton Federation, the German Badminton Association and other organizations said on the 26th that due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the German Open in 2020 was suspended, and the Polish Open originally planned to be held in Krakow from March 26th to 29th was postponed. These two events are sub-projects of the World Badminton Federation World Tour and the Tokyo Olympic Games Points Competition respectively. However, the British Badminton Association announced earlier that it would ensure that the All England Open would be held as usual, and the China badminton team, which is training in the UK, would participate as planned. The Bundesliga competition is still going on normally, but it may be cancelled if the epidemic spreads in the future.

The Irish Radio and Television website said that the six-nation European rugby match between Ireland and Italy would be postponed. The Irish Rugby League said in a statement, "We will cooperate with other countries to consider the possibility of rescheduling the game, and the result is expected to be determined in the next few days." Sportscar365 website said that the European Touring Car Open was originally planned to hold a winter test race in Barcelona, Catalonia from March 6 to 7. However, in view of the increasingly serious epidemic, the official announced the postponement of this activity. Although the World Track and Field Cycling Championship, which started in Berlin on the 26th, has not been cancelled, it will also be in the "highest alert state", and the spectators need to undergo health checks such as temperature measurement before entering the stadium.

Will the European Cup be affected?

The Spanish newspaper "20 Minutes" reported on the 27th that the European Football Joint Executive Committee warned that the European Cup in 2020 may be suspended if the COVID-19 epidemic is not stably controlled in Europe. Michel Uva, vice-president of UEFA and member of the Executive Committee, said in an interview: "We are in the waiting stage and closely observe the situation in each country. Football matches must be played according to the orders of each country. Only when the situation deteriorates further will the game be cancelled. " It should be emphasized that the 2020 European Cup is the first time in the history of the tournament to adopt a tour without a host country, and Rome, Italy is one of the host cities of 12.

At present, UEFA has sold 2.5 million tickets at prices ranging from 30 euros to 945 euros. If the final event is changed, UEFA will suffer huge financial losses due to compulsory refund. Agence France-Presse quoted Juventus coach Surrey as saying: "Everyone needs to stay calm. The epidemic situation is a problem that needs to be faced throughout Europe, and relevant departments will work hard to contain it. " UEFA said in a statement, "There is no need to change the schedule of the European Cup at this stage, but safety and health come first, and we will continue to pay attention to the risk of the spread of the epidemic."