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Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - Japanese football authorities have postponed its domestic cup competition over the deadly coronavirus while two AFC Champions League matches in South Korea next week will be played behind closed doors.
The Japanese football league postponed seven cup games slated for Wednesday, and said it will discuss suspending all matches until March 15. Teams in the 18-team top-tier J-League played their first matches of the new season this past weekend.
"J-League will provide its maximum cooperation for the prevention of the spread [of the virus] and anti-infection measures," the league said.
The decision follows the postponement of matches in China, the epicentre of the outbreak, and South Korea, while some games in Italy have been called off while other matches will be played behind closed doors.
The outbreak in South Korea has prompted two clubs set to host matches in the Champions League next week to announce no fans will be allowed to attend the games.
FC Seoul host Thailand's Chiangrai United next Tuesday in Group E with Ulsan set to face Australia's Perth Glory in Asia's Premier club competition.
South Korea has reported nearly 900 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infections, with nine deaths.
The two teams said the decision was made "at the request of the Korea Professional Football League" to curb the spread of the infections.
Two other South Korean teams involved in the competition, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Bluewings, do not have their next home games until April.
The announcements come 24 hours after South Korea's K-league postponed the start of the new football season following a spike in COVID-19 cases over the weekend.
The UAE are represented in this year's tournament by champions Sharjah, Al Wahda, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and Al Ain.
Wahda are due to host Iranian club Esteghlal on March 2. According to official figures, Iran has 61 confirmed cases of the virus and 12 deaths, although a MP for Qom, the worst-affected city in Iran, said the death toll stood at 50 in his city alone.
On Tuesday, Bahrain's civil aviation authority suspended all flights arriving from Dubai and Sharjah for 48 hours.
After China indefinitely postponed the start of its own domestic league, Chinese teams were mostly sidelined from the AFC Champions League until April.
On Monday, a panel of medical experts advising Japan's government warned the coming weeks will be a "critical" period to preventing the new coronavirus from spreading out of control.
Japan's health minister has already urged people to avoid crowds and unnecessary gatherings, and the government has called for businesses to encourage employees to work from home and off-peak commuting.
The latest decision was made as the clock ticks closer to the Tokyo Olympics, which start in five months' time on July 24.
Organisers have repeatedly stressed that the Games will not be cancelled or rescheduled despite mounting fears over the spread of COVID-19.
Training for Olympic volunteers was suspended over the weekend, and the Tokyo Marathon on March 1 has been closed to all but elite runners.
At least 156 people diagnosed with new coronavirus in Japan, along with nearly 700 on a cruise ship that was quarantined off the country for two weeks.
Four people who became ill on the ship have died. Domestically Japan has reported one fatality linked to the virus.
Table tennis became the latest sport affected by the spread of the deadly coronavirus, with the International Table Tennis Federation on Tuesday announcing that the world team championships, due to take place next month in the South Korean city of Busan, have been postponed.
The federation said the event, originally planned for March 22-29, had been provisionally rescheduled for June 21-28.
"Given the uncertainty and changing situation in Korea Republic amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 across the nation, the decision was made with the health and safety of players, officials and fans as the top priority," the International Table Tennis Federation said in a statement.
South Korean health authorities have been battling a surge of new coronavirus cases that took the nation's tally to 893 on Tuesday. Nine have died from the virus in the country.
A slew of cases have been reported in Busan, the country's second largest city.
The virus has infected more than 80,000 people around the world, including more than 77,000 in China. More than 2,600 people have died in China's central Hubei province alone.
Updated: February 25, 2020 11:50 AM
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