Manchester United and Bayern Munich's European matches to be played behind closed doors following coronavirus outbreak
- Manchester United v Lask and Bayern Munich v Chelsea to be played behind closed doors as preventive measures to contain the epidemic
![Chelsea v FC Bayern Munich in UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 800 538"></svg>)
Fresh reports coming out of England and Germany claim that Manchester United v Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub (LASK)and Bayern Munich v Chelsea at Linz and Munich will be played behind closed doors, responding to the outbreak of coronavirus. Confirming the news, Manchester United released a statement saying:
The Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober has announced that all public events in the country with more than 500 people would be cancelled until mid-April. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich have also announced that their UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg against Chelsea would also be played behind closed doors. The match which is to be played on 18th of March will have no spectators in the stands.
The Bavarians have also announced that the fans will receive a full refund following the decision. The German champs lead the Londoners 3-0 following the first leg. Recent events have led Football Associations all over Europe into postponing the games or taking preventive measures to safeguard the interests of fans and players.
Earlier last week, Italy's top of the table clash between Juventus and Inter Milan too was played with zero supporters in the stadium. Subsequently, the whole country of Italy has gone into shutdown in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Also read | 'We play for the people' says Pep Guardiola who is not keen on playing football games behind closed doors
Published 10 Mar 2020, 23:38 IST
