Coronavirus sport news: Premier League ban extended to end of April due to Covid-19

The Premier League could today finalise provisional plans to play out the remaining 92 fixtures

Coronavirus: What we know so far

Premier League clubs attempted to thrash out a plan to complete a season placed on ice by the coronavirus pandemic when they met via a conference call on Thursday. Covid-19 has forced leagues around Europe to be suspended, with England’s top tier now on hold until at least 30 April.

Uefa have postponed Euro 2020 for a year, giving the leagues valuable breathing room to finish the fixtures. Elsewhere, the Ryder Cup in golf looks to be on, still, with Padraig Harrington insisting the September tournament could run without fans.

Here are all the latest happenings from around the world on Thursday as sport contends with the pandemic.

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Premier League clubs attempted to thrash out a plan to complete a season placed on ice by the coronavirus pandemic when they met via a conference call on Thursday. Covid-19 has forced leagues around Europe to be suspended, with England’s top tier now on hold until at least 30 April.

Top-flight fixtures were originally suspended until April 4 at the earliest and the lay-off was extended on Thursday, despite Uefa’s decision to postpone the Euro 2020 finals for 12 months with an aim of creating room for manoeuvre.

The EFL has already announced a £50million short-term relief package to help out struggling lower league clubs during the shut-down, a move which was brought into sharp focus by Scottish Premiership side Hearts’ announcement that it has asked staff to take a 50 per cent pay cut.

In a statement on the club’s official website, Hearts owner Anne Budge said: “In order to try to prevent a staff redundancy programme and to protect as many jobs as possible, I am proposing to implement a club-wide salary reduction programme.

“Given the uncertainty of the whole situation with which we have been presented, we cannot say how long these measures will be in place.”

Key Points

• The Premier League have extended the league's suspension until the end of April and lifted the deadline to finish the season indefinitely
• Euro 2020 postponed until 2021
• Kevin Durant and Brooklyn Nets players test positive for virus
• French Open moved to September
• Golf's PGA Championship cancelled
• First seven races of F1 calendar now postponed

[19 March 2020 18:40 · Alex Pattle]

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[19 March 2020 18:49 · Alex Pattle]

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[19 March 2020 19:31 · Alex Pattle]

That's all our live coverage of coronavirus' impact on sport for today. Make sure to check back tomorrow, and keep an eye on our site this evening for further news.

Until then...