BOTH Euro 2020 and the Olympic Games are now ODDS-ON to be cancelled as the spread of coronavirus leaves sporting chiefs scrambling.
This summer’s European Championship is now 5/6 to be called off, while the Tokyo Games are 8/11 as chiefs fear about the spread of the killer bug.
The odds on Wimbledon (4/1) and Cheltenham (3/1) have also been drastically shortened after a series of updates from health chiefs.
On Tuesday morning, health secretary Matt Hancock revealed it was “not appropriate to cancel games” in the Premier League.
But despite that, the odds on the Prem season being cancelled before its conclusion have been slashed to just 5/1.
That could mean bad news for Liverpool, who are all-but certain to break their Premier League title duck this term.
On cutting the season short, Hancock said: “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.”
GAMES POSTPONED?
Both FA and Prem chiefs have discussed the idea of finishing the 2019-20 season behind closed doors due to coronavirus.
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.
Meanwhile, this summer’s Tokyo Games could be POSTPONED until the end of 2020, according to Japan’s Olympics minister, Heiko Hashimoto.
She revealed: “The contract calls for the Games to be held within 2020.
“That could be interpreted as allowing a postponement.
“We are doing all we can to ensure that the Games go ahead as planned.”
However, International Olympic Committee chief Dick Pound earlier revealed it was more likely the Games are cancelled than postponed.
Pound claimed: “You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics.
“There’s so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons.
“You can’t just say, `We’ll do it in October.’ You’re probably looking at a cancellation.”
Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance on Coronavirus worst case scenarios
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
