Will the camera become the sporting norm in the face of the coronavirus epidemic? Advocating on Monday to the press for "sports continuity", the Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu recognized that "behind closed doors can become our doctrine for organizing competitions and professional sport". While gatherings of more than 1,000 people are now banned until April 15, Europe 1 takes stock of the sports meetings that will have to do without supporters.
"The camera can become our doctrine for organizing competitions and professional sport. What I recommend is sports continuity" - @ RoxaMaracineanu # Coronavirus # COVID2019pic.twitter.com / iwG1ZsIEs2
- Ministry of Sports ♂️ (@Sports_gouv) March 9, 2020Champions League, Ligue 1, Euro-2020 ...
Until then spared by the measures, the Champions League is now also affected by sanitary measures against the coronavirus. Thus, the first round of 16 return between Valencia and Atalanta will be played in an empty stadium on Tuesday evening. Ditto the next day, for the PSG-Dortmund match. A decision also considered "catastrophic" by the president of the Collective Ultras Paris, Romain Mabille, who regretted on Europe 1 "a real frustration of not being able to encourage [our] players".
But the race for the cup "with the big ears" is not the only one which must adapt, since the matches of female football which must oppose France in the Netherlands and Canada in Brazil this Tuesday, within the framework of Tournoi de France, will also be held behind closed doors.
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On the Ligue 1 side, the meeting between Olympique Lyonnais and the Stade de Reims scheduled for Friday at 8.45 pm will also be put under cover. A decision which should theoretically affect all the matches of this championship, but also of Ligue 2, until April 15. The classico between OM and PSG on March 22 could therefore be done with deserted stands, just like the final of the Coupe de la Ligue between Paris and Lyon, scheduled for April 4 at the Stade de France.
The persistence of the coronavirus could also weigh on Euro-2020. The possibility of a closed session for the preparation matches of the French team, and in particular those scheduled for March 27 against Ukraine at the Stade de France and four days later against Finland in Lyon, is no longer to rule out.
The jostling Olympic flame lighting ceremony
Besides the world of football, other sports must do without fan fever. The legendary Paris-Nice cycling race, which started this Sunday, takes place while spectators cannot access the start and finish areas. In addition, the Greek Olympic Committee announced Monday that the ceremony to light the Olympic flame, scheduled for Thursday in the ancient stadium of Olympia, would be closed to the public because of the epidemic of new coronavirus.
Only 100 guests, accredited by the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, will be able to attend the ceremony. A costume rehearsal, scheduled for Wednesday, will also be closed to the public and the media.