This weekend was supposed to see Inter Miami take in their first home game, but the league has called off the activity because of health and safety fears.
Major League Soccer has declared that all matches are suspended for 30 days amid the outbreak of this novel Covid-19 coronavirus.
A complete card of matches was scheduled to occur this weekend — such as David Beckham’s Inter Miami’s first home game — with Atlanta United and Sporting KC sitting atop the Eastern and Western conferences, respectively.
The spread of coronavirus has forced the league’s hand, but with the US top tier after suit with a lot of other leagues throughout the world in an effort to prevent more people from becoming infected.
An official statement released by MLS reads:”Major League Soccer has suspended match play for 30 days, effective immediately, as the league continues to evaluate the effects of Covid-19 with its healthcare task force and public health officials.
“At the proper time, the league and clubs will communicate strategies for the continuation of the 2020 year and upgrade the status of league events.”
MLS commissioner Don Garber added:”Our clubs were united today decided to temporarily suspend our season — according to guidance and advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and other public health authorities, and in the best interest of our fans, players, officials and personnel.
“We want to thank our fans for their continued support during this tough time.”
U.S. soccer has also declared that friendlies between its men’s and women’s national teams in the coming weeks are cancelled.
The USMNT were set to play Netherlands and Wales in late March while the USWNT have seen games against Australia and Brazil in early April suspended.
The U.S. men’s Under-23 side is now at Mexico for the Olympic qualifying tournament, which is set to get underway on March 20 and is in continuous contact with Concacaf officials concerning the status of the tournament.
MLS joins Serie A in suspending its games, with Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte calling a stop to all sporting events throughout the nation as they endeavour to restrain the spread of this outbreak. Two Serie A players have tested positive for the virus.
La Liga also joined the list on Thursday, with a part of Real Madrid’s basketball team — who use the identical training facilities as the soccer team — examining positive and hence forcing the whole club into quarantine.
In the Premier League, both Arsenal and Leicester have been changed, but nearly all matches in the English top tier are set to proceed.
In Germany, the DFB published a statement of their own, with General Secretary Friedrich Curtius saying:”We need to deal with all the possible situations so as to be ready in the event of an interruption or an early end of this season.
“The goal remains, of course, to complete the season in a regular sporting fashion. However, the health authorities have the decisive word. We are going to follow these guidelines with no ifs and buts, and we always align the organisation of game operations, that’s the core job of the DFB and its institutions, together with them.”
