Hopes for a GAA championship this summer appear all but gone after yesterday's confirmation that mass gatherings of over 5000 people are to be banned until August at the earliest.
The measures, to help stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, were agreed by Cabinet yesterday morning, and are in place until August 31st.
It's fair to say most coverage on both the front and back pages of this morning's newspapers have been dedicated to the news.
The Irish Independent:
The Indo focuses on a warning from medical expert, Professor Sam McConkey, that it will take a near elimination of the coronavirus in this country before contact sport becomes a realistic option.
There is also a stark photograph of two Red Bull Salzburg footballers in Austria, with both wearing protective face masks as their side return to training.
===
The Irish Examiner:
In this morning's edition of The Irish Examiner the headline at the top from Michael Moynihan is one that will stop sports fans in their tracks - 'Is the Government slowly preparing people to do without sport?'
The main headline on the back page is 'Clarity sought over plans to limit crowds to 5000' - which looks into slight confusion among some sporting bodies over whether or not the ban on mass gatherings will affect sporting events with crowds of far less than the specified number of 5000.
===
The Irish News:
The back page of The Irish News neatly summarises the impact this latest government announcement will have on a multitude of sports in this country.
It acknowledges the fresh doubt now surrounding the inter-county GAA season, with the Galway Races also set to be run out behind-closed-doors, if at all.
The FAI also announced yesterday that the Republic of Ireland's crunch EURO 2020 play-off against Slovakia is likely to be played on a date in October, although whether or not crowds will be in attendance remains very much up in the air.
===
The Irish Daily Mail:
A very attention-grabbing headline / photo combination accompanies Philip Lanigan's piece in The Irish Daily Mail.
'Sport suspended in disaster movie' is the headline with an image showing what a lot of us feel - that we are living through the plot of a film right about now.
===
UK - The Guardian:
The Guardian in the UK runs with 'Tottenham players sorry for ignoring coronavirus guidelines'. This comes after Spurs pair Moussa Sissoko and Serge Aurier apologised for a video which showed them ignoring government guidelines on Covid-19.
It comes two weeks after their manager José Mourinho apologised for holding a training session with Tanguy Ndombele.
===
UK - The Daily Mail:
The Daily Mail also runs with the news of Spurs players Sissoko and Aurier bending the government social distancing guidelines, coupled with the headline 'You Clowns!'
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
