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Monaco F1 GP becomes seventh race affected by COVID-19 crisis

Mar 20, 2020

Formula One continues to push back the start of the season amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Now the Monaco GP has been cancelled, while the Dutch and Spanish races have been postponed. 

The cancellation came just hours after it was confirmed that Prince Albert of Monaco had tested positive for the deadly virus, with Monaco organisers saying it’s not possible to rearrange a date. 

However, F1 are hopeful of fitting the Zandvoort and Barcelona races - as well as the other postponed Grands Prix in Bahrain, Vietnam and China - back onto the calendar once the season begins. 

This means the first scheduled race on the 2020 calendar is now the Azerbaijan GP on June 7th, before the Canadian GP the following week.

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English football now suspended till late April

The continued spread of the coronavirus has forced English football to be suspended till April 30th, instead of the initially-planned date of April 3rd. 

Under current rules, the season had been scheduled to end on June 1st, but the English FA has also agreed that the current season can be extended indefinitely. 

In an official statement, it says it’s committed to finding ways to resume the season, as well as completing all domestic and European matches, as soon as it’s safe and possible to do so. 

The news comes as FIFA established a working group, to tackle issues facing football as a result of the pandemic, which includes the international fixture calendar, and issues regarding player contracts.

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Tokyo 2020 organisers handed Olympic flame

Greece has handed the Olympic flame over to Tokyo 2020 organisers, at a ceremony held behind closed doors, amid more calls for the Games to be cancelled. 

Several top athletes say their training regimes have already been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, and that they would be taking health risks, should the Games go ahead.