Manchester United believe finishing the both the domestic and European season should now be a “priority” after the postponement of Euro 2020.

Uefa, European football’s governing body, announced on Tuesday that their flagship competition – originally due to start this summer – would be put on hold for 12 months.

The tournament will now be held 11 June – 11 July 2021 following the global coronavirus pandemic, to protect the health of those involved and avoid placing unnecessary stress on public services.

England cricketer Alex Hales has corrected rumours about him showing symptoms of coronavirus while playing in Pakistan, but admitted on Tuesday to developing a fever and cough after returning home.

It had been reported that Hales developed symptoms of Covid-19 while playing in the Pakistan Super League last week, leading to the competition’s postponement and the Nottinghamshire opener being sent home to self-isolate.

However, Hales took to Twitter on Tuesday to clear up the situation, while urging everyone to “stay safe”.

Barnet makes 60 employees redundant in wake of coronavirus

Non-league football club Barnet FC have laid off all of their non-playing staff due to the impact of coronavirus.

Barnet released a statement on Tuesday, which read: "Over the past few days, we have taken emergency measures to preserve the Club and ensure it remains sustainable.

Since relegation, we have seen a general drop in crowd attendances of 50%, whilst general costs have increased resulting in operational losses of approximately £100,000 per month. The Club budgeted for this cost in the hope of promotion but of course, at the end of April, all of our parachute funding will cease and we need to therefore make savings accordingly.

The IOC said in a statement following discussions with international sports federations that changes would need to be made to the qualifiers due to the impact of the virus but it plans to go ahead with the July 24-Aug 9 Olympics.

"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," it said in a statement.

"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," it said, less than an hour after European soccer body UEFA postponed its 2020 European championship to 2021.

Speculation about whether the Olympics can be held has mounted by the day due to concerns about the virus, which has infected almost 190,000 people and killed over 7,500 worldwide, with the epicentre now being Europe.

Sports competitions have come to a halt in many parts of the world, wreaking havoc with Olympic qualifiers across 33 sports. The IOC on Monday scrapped any remaining boxing qualifiers due to the virus.

So far 57% of the 11,000 athletes have already secured their spot.

"For the remaining 43% of places, the IOC will work with the international federations to make any necessary and practical adaptations to their respective qualification systems for Tokyo 2020," the Olympic body said.

It said qualification could also be based on ranking or historical results as well.

"The IOC has confidence that the many measures being taken by many authorities around the world will help contain the situation of the COVID-19 virus."

It seems that a statement on Women's Euro 2021 is expected later - most likely this summer.

The competition could well move to 2022 so as to avoid clashing with the now postponed men's tournament.

More from Ceferin:

“It was important that, as the governing body of European football, Uefa led the process and made the biggest sacrifice. Moving Euro 2020 comes at a huge cost for Uefa but we will do our best to ensure that the vital funding for grassroots, women’s football and the development of the game in our 55 countries is not affected.

"Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole.

“Football is an uplifting and powerful force in society. The thought of celebrating a pan-European festival of football in empty stadia, with deserted fan zones while the continent sits at home in isolation, is a joyless one and one we could not accept to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the competition."
 

Here's what Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin had to say:

“We are at the helm of a sport that vast numbers of people live and breathe that has been laid low by this invisible and fast-moving opponent. It is at times like these that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism.

“The health of fans, staff and players has to be our number one priority and in that spirit, Uefa tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely and I am proud of the response of my colleagues across European football. 

"There was a real spirit of cooperation, with everyone recognising that they had to sacrifice something in order to achieve the best result."

"The Uefa Euro 2020 play-off matches and international friendlies, scheduled for the end of March, will now be played in the international window at the start of June, subject to a review of the situation," a statement read.

A reminder that the biggest sporting news so far today is the postponement of Euro 2020, which will now take place in summer 2021.

European governing body Uefa held a teleconference on Tuesday with all 55 associate members, the European Club Association which represents almost 250 clubs across the continent, the European Leagues which represent 32 leagues, as well as a representative from FifPro.

Uefa are yet to officially announce the postponement, but the Norwegian FA have issued a short statement to claim that the European Championship will now become Euro 2021 and get underway on 11 June next year, with the final taking place on 11 July.

The tournament had originally been scheduled to take place from June 12 to July 12 this year.

F1 issues open letter to apologise to fans after cancelling races as Chase Carey admits sport faces uncertain future

Formula One chief executive and chairman Chase Carey has written an open letter to apologise to fans for cancelling the opening four races of the 2020 season, but admitted that he does not know what will come next for the sport.

F1 left it to the last minute to call off the Australian Grand Prix last weekend, with the decision coming hours before the start of first practice in Melbourne - some 12 hours after McLaren pulled out of the race due to one of their team members contracting coronavirus.

The global pandemic has seen all motorsport impacted by cancellations and postponements, and F1 officials are attempting to draft a new-look season that could get underway at the end of May, resulting in the first six races of the season being rescheduled or cancelled altogether.

The Roehampton site is a popular training base for a number of Britain's leading players, including Andy Murray, with indoor and outdoor courts and a gym among its facilities.

But the Lawn Tennis Association, which is also based at the centre, announced on Monday evening that all activity delivered by the governing body is suspended until next week.

That includes the NTC, meaning players hoping to keep in shape will need to find alternative facilities.

A statement from the LTA read: "The LTA remains in communication with the Government and is assessing the implications of its latest announcement for tennis in Britain over the coming weeks.

"While this assessment is being undertaken, there will be an immediate suspension of activity delivered by the LTA for an initial period up until Monday, March 23.

"This will include all LTA organised training sessions, training courses and LTA staged and LTA approved competitions. All those involved in tennis in Britain are advised to follow the latest Government advice."

Professional tennis has been suspended until late April at the earliest.

The International Tennis Federation, which runs the lowest levels of the game, has called off all tournaments until April 20, the ATP until April 27 and the WTA until May 2.

The first big event that could take place is the Madrid Open beginning on May 2. The year's second grand slam, the French Open, is due to start on May 24.