The 2020 European Championships - in which four fixtures were due to be held in Dublin - have been postponed until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Uefa confirmed yesterday. The tournament now has a new start date of June 11th 2021, and will - in theory - reach its conclusion on July 11th. The decision has largely been made to allow domestic and European club competitions to reach their conclusion this summer, and means Ireland's play-off away to Slovakia - which was due to take place in Bratislava on March 26th - will now be held during the scheduled international break in June. Yesterday the FAI welcomed the move by Uefa, however Niall Quinn has alluded to the considerable challenges it will pose the association. Emmet Malone writes: "Quinn expressed regret that the revenues the tournament was to have brought into the country will not now arrive until the summer of next year and confirmed that the jobs of more than 20 people employed here by Uefa to organise the Irish end of the tournament are in doubt, with the European federation stating that there will be a consultation process over the coming weeks."
Meanwhile in his column this morning Gordon D'Arcy has suggested the enforced break in the rugby season could end up being a positive thing for players after a gruelling 2019 calendar: "Let me flip this global negative into a positive; most players need a break after 2019. Not from the mental scars - forget about them because athletes are like sharks; they keep swimming or die - no, last year's physical toll was immense. Their bodies need to heal." And he has also welcomed Ian Madigan's impending switch from Bristol to Ulster: "I see Madigan, who should be durable for the next four years as he hasn't played much rugby, coming into the team in three different positions. An outhalf by trade, he will play thousands of minutes by embracing the jack of all trades role. He may even win that elusive 31st cap." However, he admits these are difficult days for the sport and all involved: "These are truly worrying times for out of contract players. Belts will need tightening. There is a musical chairs feel to it all."
Elsewhere this morning Eamon Donoghue has spoken to former Offaly footballer Nigel Dunne about his struggles with mental health, having fallen out of favour with the county following an incident during a match against Wicklow in 2018. "I stopped identifying myself as just a footballer. As then I was associating my happiness with football," he said. "I was Nigel Dunne the footballer, and if I wasn't doing well at that I was nothing. So when I stopped doing that I found that everything got a little bit better, I actually have a balance now"
The European Championships might have been postponed but no such decision has been made about the Tokyo Olympics just yet, with the IOC releasing a statement yesterday following a teleconference with various Olympic summer sport federations. The teleconference will continue today, but as it stands the IOC are still planning for the Opening Ceremony to go ahead on July 24th. The statement read: "The IOC remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive. The IOC encourages all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 as best they can."
With no live sport to show, and with pubs closed until March 29th at the earliest, Sky Ireland customers can pause their subscriptions, while businesses will not be charged "until a live sport schedule returns," the broadcaster confirmed yesterday.
And Horse Racing Ireland will meet this afternoon to decide whether racing on the island will continue behind closed doors or be postponed altogether. Yesterday it was confirmed all racing in the UK will be stopped until the end of April, with France doing the same until at least April 15th.
