Wednesday night's UEFA Champions League clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund will be played behind closed doors, due to the spread of COVID-19.
The coronavirus has spread rapidly on the continent, with the decision taken to play the last-16, second leg tie without any fans present at Parc des Princes.
Dortmund won the first leg 2-1 in Germany, with a brace from Norwegian star striker Erling Håland.
It is the second game in the tournament that has been announced to be going ahead without a crowd - last week Valencia announced that their second leg against Seria A side Atalanta would also be played behind closed doors.
🔴 BREAKING - Coronavirus: PSG vs. Dortmund Champions League match to take place without spectators (Paris police) https://t.co/PKQf77TQkG pic.twitter.com/XWi1TU8LS6
— FRANCE 24 – Breaking (@BreakingF24) March 9, 2020
A number of Italian domestic league games have already been played behind closed doors - including a 2-0 win for Juventus over title rivals Inter Milan last night.
France has reported 1,126 cases of the virus as of yesterday, up 19% from the day before and the second largest number of cases in Europe after Italy.
Nineteen people are confirmed to have died in France so far, while the government has announced a ban on large gatherings of one thousand people or more.
Protests, exams and public transport may be exempt from the ban on large gatherings.
PSG have released a statement acknowledging the news on their official website.
"Paris Saint-Germain notes the decision of the Paris Prefecture de Police to hold the Paris Saint-Germain v Borussia Dortmund match on Wednesday 11 March behind closed doors.
"In this context, the club remains fully mobilized to organize the match in the best possible conditions.
"PSG season ticket holders and supporters who bought their tickets on billetterie.psg.fr and ticketplace.psg.fr will be informed very soon of the terms and conditions proposed by Paris Saint-Germain.
"The club would like to thank all supporters for their understanding and continued support."
📍 #PSGBVB
Paris Saint-Germain notes the decision of the Paris Prefecture de Police to hold the Paris Saint-Germain v Borussia Dortmund match on Wednesday 11 March behind closed doors.
👉 https://t.co/a4vhRa0c2V pic.twitter.com/GQljZMq9BJ— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 9, 2020
The Six Nations clash between France and Ireland in Paris looks set to be moved to October 31st, according to reports in the French media.
Midi-Olympique are reporting both that game and the meeting of Wales and Scotland will be moved.
"Due to the epidemic of Coronavirus, the 6 Nations Committee has just decided to postpone the whole of the last day of the 6 Nations to next October 31, France - Ireland but also Wales - Scotland.
"A final telephone point between the different federations this Monday morning confirmed a decision that was in the pipeline for the past few hours. There will therefore be no France - Ireland next Saturday."
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