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Coronavirus hits Arsenal and Chelsea; The Players Championship is cancelled

The Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with ‘The Irish Times’ sports team

It’s Cheltenham Gold Cup day, and it’s one of the most wide open races we’ve had in years. Photograph: Getty Images
It’s Cheltenham Gold Cup day, and it’s one of the most wide open races we’ve had in years. Photograph: Getty Images
Fri Mar 13 2020 - 07:57

As of today all horse racing in Ireland has been closed to the public until March 29th, but across the Irish sea Cheltenham goes ahead as planned. And it's Gold Cup day. You can follow our live blog of the action from 12.45pm and check out Tony Keenan's day four tips here. Al Boum Photo could join former Cheltenham Gold Cup legend Best Mate in winning steeplechasing's 'Blue Riband' back-to-back, read Brian O'Connor's preview here. While in an unusual twist of fate, JP McManus's jockey Mark Walsh could win the sport's ultimate prize for Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary. On Thursday, Gordon Elliott brought his festival tally to six wins for the week with a day three hat-trick, as the Stayers Hurdle turned into a bookmakers benefit with the Welsh trained 50-1 shot Lisnagar Oscar holding on for an unlikely win.

The PGA Tour's Players Championship at Sawgrass has been cancelled after the first round on Thursday owing to the coronavirus. Organisers had planned to play the last three rounds without spectators, but a decision was later taken to abandon the tournament, as well as the next three weeks of PGA Tour events. Rory McIlroy had expressed his serious concerns prior to the announcement.

Uefa are widely believed to be on the verge of postponing Euro 2020 because of the deepening coronavirus crisis. There is, in any case, next to no hope of Ireland's play-off match going ahead as planned on March 26th, with the government in Slovakia having declared a state of emergency and prohibited non-residents from entering the country. Read Emmet Malone's report for all the latest developments here. Last night Manchester United made it 11 games unbeaten as they put five goals past Lask at an empty stadium in Austria - Odion Ighalo's opener proving the pick of the bunch in their Europa League last-16 first leg. Elsewhere Wolves drew 1-1 at 10-man Olympiacos, and their manager Nuno Espirito Santo again criticised the decision to play, calling it absurd. Chelsea's full squad have gone into self-isolation after winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for the coronavirus, as is the case with Arsenal after their manager Mikel Arteta also contracted the virus.Three Leicester players have also shown symptoms of the coronavirus and have been kept away from the squad. The Premier League will convene an emergency club meeting this morning regarding future fixtures.

Meanwhile as sport comes to a standstill in Ireland - the Pro14 season has been suspended and the GAA, FAI and IRFU have all imposed blanket bans on sporting activity at all levels under their jurisdictions until the end of the month. Sean Moran explains that, realistically, there may be no option but to abandon this year's GAA leagues and defer the introduction of the Taliteann Cup until 2021. The Champions Cup quarter-finals over the first weekend in April remain under very real threat of postponement and possibly even cancellation, but as things stand the official line is they are going ahead.