THE Premier League has been given a boost after health secretary Matt Hancock insisted it was “not appropriate to cancel games” amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Both FA and Prem chiefs have discussed the idea of finishing the 2019-20 season behind closed doors due to fears of the killer bug.
But Uefa spent just “two minutes” in showdown talks on Monday despite European countries such as France, Switzerland and Italy going to extreme lengths to limit the spread.
Despite increasing fears, Hancock has revealed drastic measures in British sport won’t be taken just yet.
Hancock was asked if Premier League matches could be cancelled due to fears of the ever-spreading virus on Good Morning Britain.
Host Piers Morgan added Liverpool fans are following the story closely as they bid to finally break their Premier League title duck.
Hancock replied: “My stepdad and son are Liverpool fans, so I feel we want to have the minimal levels of disruption.
“Right now, it’s not appropriate to be cancelling matches here like that.
“We have to keep these things under review, but it’s something we are reluctant to do.
“It’s my job to make sure people are safe.”
Hancock had previously revealed entire cities could be put on lockdown with a vaccine for the killer bug months away.
When asked about China isolating entire cities, the health secretary claimed: “There’s clearly a huge economic and social downside to that.
“But we don’t take anything off the table at this stage, because you’ve got to make sure that you have all the tools available, if that is what’s necessary.
“But I want to minimise the social and economic disruption.
“Under the worst-case scenario, we would have to take quite significant action,” Mr Hancock told the BBC.
“We will be publishing battle plans this week that sets those things out.”
But on Tuesday morning, Hancock did suggest there are reasons to be optimistic.
He continued: “We do think [a global pandemic] is a very serious possibility, obviously.
“But we haven’t given up on containing it yet. There are some countries where the spread has slowed down recently, who are managing to get a grip on it.
“That is good news.”
Global sport has been hugely affected by coronavirus so far.
Formula One was the first to react, cancelling the Chinese Grand Prix – set to be held in Shanghai on February 12.
And races in Australia, Vietnam and Bahrain are also at risk.
In ruby, the Six Nations clash between Italy and Ireland was called off – with the Italians’ clash with England now in doubt.
Five Serie A games were also postponed at the weekend, including Juventus’ huge top-of-the-table clash with Inter Milan.
Across the world, football matches in Japan and China have been cancelled – with the Olympics now odds-on to be cancelled with bookies Betfair.
The Tokyo Marathon on March 1 is set to be just for elite athletes, rather than open to the public.
In cycling, the UAE Tour was cancelled after two Italian staff members tested positive for coronavirus.
WrestleMania 36 is also in doubt, with WWE saying they are constantly monitoring ahead of the event on April 5.
And now Euro 2020 could even be at risk, with the tournament being hosted across the continent – including in Italy, the most-affected country in Europe.
