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In Pictures: Coronavirus causes empty stadiums, cancelled matches

The coronavirus pandemic shredded the global sporting calendar with top sporting events around cancelled or postponed.

An empty Greensboro Coliseum after the NCAA college basketball games were cancelled at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. [Ben McKeown/AP Photo]
An empty Greensboro Coliseum after the NCAA college basketball games were cancelled at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. [Ben McKeown/AP Photo]
13 Mar 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has shredded the global sporting calendar, with men’s tennis shut down for six weeks, top European football leagues placed on hold, the National Hockey League (NHL) in the United States suspended, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) opening day postponed and the Formula One season thrown into doubt with the cancellation of the opening Australian Grand Prix. 

The National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended the season until further notice on Wednesday after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the coronavirus.

In football, domestic leagues, the Champions League and the 2020 European Championship were all in limbo. France, Spain and the Netherlands became the latest countries to suspend all matches.

Spanish giants Real Madrid put their squad in quarantine after a member of the club’s basketball team tested positive on Thursday and their Champions League last-16 clash at Manchester City next week has been postponed.

Italy’s Serie A has already stopped until at least April 3 with the country in lockdown and two Serie A players, Sampdoria’s Manolo Gabbiadini and Daniele Rugani of Juve, testing positive.

The ongoing high-profile Pakistan Super League T20 cricket tournament, involving dozens of international players, has announced that matches will be played in front of empty stadiums. [Asif Hassan/AFP]
The ongoing high-profile Pakistan Super League T20 cricket tournament, involving dozens of international players, has announced that matches will be played in front of empty stadiums. [Asif Hassan/AFP]
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Workers pack up in pit lane after the cancellation of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne. The first F1 Grand Prix of the season was cancelled two hours before the first official practice was set to start after organisers relented to pressure to call it off amid the spreading coronavirus. [Michael Dodge/AAP Image via AP]
Workers pack up in pit lane after the cancellation of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne. The first F1 Grand Prix of the season was cancelled two hours before the first official practice was set to start after organisers relented to pressure to call it off amid the spreading coronavirus. [Michael Dodge/AAP Image via AP]
Olympiakos' Youssef El-Arabi celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Europa League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Karaiskakis Stadium, played in an empty stadium. [Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Photo]
Olympiakos' Youssef El-Arabi celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Europa League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Karaiskakis Stadium, played in an empty stadium. [Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Photo]
Peru's Alianza Lima and Argentina's Racing Club play a Copa Libertadores football match at an empty Presidente Peron stadium in Buenos Aires as part of the government's measures to contain transmission of the coronavirus. [Gustavo Garello/AP Photo]
Peru's Alianza Lima and Argentina's Racing Club play a Copa Libertadores football match at an empty Presidente Peron stadium in Buenos Aires as part of the government's measures to contain transmission of the coronavirus. [Gustavo Garello/AP Photo]
Hand sanitiser is seen at the track before the NCAA Indoor Championships, in Albuquerque Convention Center, which were cancelled because of the coronavirus. [Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports via Reuters]
Hand sanitiser is seen at the track before the NCAA Indoor Championships, in Albuquerque Convention Center, which were cancelled because of the coronavirus. [Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports via Reuters]
Hammond Stadium usher Ken Trammell looks out on an empty stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. Major League Baseball has suspended the rest of its spring training game schedule because of the coronavirus outbreak. MLB is also delaying the start of its regular season by at least two weeks. [Elise Amendola/AP Photo]
Hammond Stadium usher Ken Trammell looks out on an empty stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. Major League Baseball has suspended the rest of its spring training game schedule because of the coronavirus outbreak. MLB is also delaying the start of its regular season by at least two weeks. [Elise Amendola/AP Photo]
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Top Japanese government officials said they were determined to hold 'safe and secure' Olympics on schedule after US President Donald Trump said Tokyo should consider delaying them by a year because of the pandemic. [Jae C Hong/AP Photo]
Top Japanese government officials said they were determined to hold 'safe and secure' Olympics on schedule after US President Donald Trump said Tokyo should consider delaying them by a year because of the pandemic. [Jae C Hong/AP Photo]
The NHL announced it has suspended its season due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus. [Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP]
The NHL announced it has suspended its season due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus. [Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP]
Fans leave after an announcement that the NBA fixture between Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz was cancelled just before the tip-off at Chesapeake Energy Arena. [Alonzo Adams/USA Today Sports via Reuters]
Fans leave after an announcement that the NBA fixture between Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz was cancelled just before the tip-off at Chesapeake Energy Arena. [Alonzo Adams/USA Today Sports via Reuters]
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