Coronavirus cloud over English Premier League games: Arsenal Football Club’s Wednesday EPL game against Manchester City was postponed amid questions over players’ safety after it was revealed that Arsenal FC footballers had come in contact with the owner of Greek club Olympiakos who had tested positive for coronavirus.

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The game became the first EPL fixture to be postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak after players from the London club were put into a 14-day quarantine following their exposure to the COVID-19-positive club owner. In a statement, Arsenal stated that the football club was strictly following government guidelines with respect to self-isolation of 14 days for anyone who comes in close contact with a coronavirus patient, hence the players were “unavailable” for Wednesday’s game.

The clubs announced the postponement of the Arsenal versus Manchester City English Premier League game over Twitter.

Arsenal tweeted that the Premier League had postponed their game with Manchester City, which was scheduled for Wednesday night, as a precautionary measure due to a coronavirus scare.

Manchester City also tweeted a club statement informing fans that their Premier League fixture against Arsenal at their home stadium – the Etihad – had been postponed. The statement said that the decision to postpone the game was taken as a precautionary measure on medical advice, after it emerged that personnel from Arsenal FC had come into contact with the owner of Greece’s Olympiacos football club, Evangelos Marinakis, who has been named as a positive case of COVID-19. Manchester City FC in their statement also wished Marinakis a speedy recovery, and said that information would be provided to fans in the following days regarding rescheduled dates. The club advised supporters to not to travel to Etihad Stadium for this fixture.

This is the first postponement of an English Premier League game that could potentially affect billions in television rights and turnstile earning. This postponement comes after the UEFA Champion’s League and Europa League games were played in empty stadium behind closed doors.

Italy’s top-flight football competition — Serie A — and other sports events have been put on hold in Italy after a major coronavirus outbreak in the country. Officials announced that for at least the next two weeks, football matches in Spain and France will be played behind closed. In Asia, the schedules of the Asian Champions League, China, Japan and South Korean football leagues have been majorly disrupted.

Arsenal players had met with the Olympiacos owner when they were knocked out of the Europa League late February. Apart from Olympiacos, Marinakis also owns England’s Nottingham Forest football club. Arsenal said that the players and four staff who met Marinakis after the game at London’s Emirates Stadium would remain at home until their 14-day quarantine isn’t over.

Olympiakos’ Europa League last-16 fixture at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers in Athens is scheduled to be held behind closed doors.