Despite growing criticism, the Turkish football championship was "resisting", now the matches – behind closed doors – and appearing in total discrepancy with the other major championships in Europe, stopped for several days to stem the epidemic of coronavirus. On Thursday March 18, the decision was finally made by the Turkish authorities to suspend the championship.
The suspension also applies to the basketball and volleyball championships, said the Minister of Sports, Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu, after a meeting with the heads of the federations of these three sports.
The head of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), Nihat Ozdemir, said that the duration of the suspension would be determined according to the development of the situation. According to the sports daily Fanatik, the TFF requested a one-month suspension.
Turkish football was not the only one to procrastinate. In Russia, Ukraine, Argentina and Mexico, the break had also been slow to be declared. And it still hasn't been in Australian football.
Meanwhile, the English football authorities decided Thursday to extend from April 3 to April 30 the suspension of the current season. The Belgians did the same.
At the same time, in Formula 1, the grand prix of the Netherlands, Spain and Monaco were postponed.
Here is the list of the main sports events canceled, postponed, displaced or threatened:
Suspended competitions
France championship, " until further notice ".
English Championship, until April 30.
Italian Championship until April 3 at least. The boss of the Federation hopes that the matches can resume on May 2 and finish no later than July.
First and Second Division German Championships, at least until April 2.
In Spain, "At least the next two days" of the championship, initially scheduled from March 13 to 22.
Portugal Championship " for an indefinite period ".
The Turkish Federation has asked for a one-month suspension.
Netherlands Championship, until April 6.
Russian Championship, until April 10.
Argentine Cup until March 31.
Belgian Championship until April 30 included. Collective training remains suspended until April 5 inclusive.
North American Football League (MLS) for 30 days (decision announced March 12).
The Copa Libertadores meetings are suspended until May 5.
South African Championship, no duration specified.
Deferred matches or competitions
The Men's Euro 2020 Football, which was scheduled to take place in twelve cities across Europe from June 12 to July 12, 2020, has been postponed to 2021.
As a result, the Women's Euro (scheduled from July 7 to August 1, 2021), the Euro Hopes (June 2021) and the Nations League finals will be delayed.
The new Club World Cup, also scheduled for summer 2021, should be rescheduled either in late 2021, 2022 or 2023.
Copa America, scheduled from June 12 to July 12, 2020 in Argentina and Colombia, is postponed from June 11 to July 11, 2021.
CHAN-2020, originally planned for Cameroon from April 4 to 25, has been postponed "At a better time".
In the Champions League, the last 8th return finals are postponed. In the Europa League, the last round of 16 first leg and return matches are postponed.
The preparation matches for Euro-2020 (postponed to 2021) of the French team against Ukraine and Finland, initially scheduled for the end of March, have been postponed "To June".
Spain: the final of the Real Sociedad – Athletic Bilbao King's Cup scheduled for April 18 has been postponed (new date to be determined).
The Dutch Cup final, scheduled for April 19, has been postponed indefinitely.
Canceled matches or competitions
The friendly matches Spain-Germany (March 26), Germany-Italy (March 31), Austria-England (June 2) and England-Romania (June 7) are canceled, like the international friendly tournament of Qatar Airways, which was to end March Portugal, Croatia, Belgium and Switzerland.
In South America, the start of qualification for the 2022 World Cup has been postponed.
The Indoor Worlds, scheduled for March 13-15 in Nanjing, China, have been postponed to 2021.
The 2020 Boston Marathon has been rescheduled from April 20 to September 14.
The Paris marathon, scheduled for April 5, has been postponed to October 18.
London marathon slated for April 26 has been postponed to October 4
The NBA is suspended for " at least " one month since March 11.
The International Federation (Fiba) and the Euroleague have suspended all European Cups.
– The European qualifying events for the Tokyo Olympic Games have been interrupted. The holding of the Americas tournament, which was to be held in Buenos Aires at the end of March / beginning of April and the final world tournament in Paris in May, were also suspended
Elite cycling has suspended activity "At least until the end of April".
Paris-Roubaix, the queen of the classics, scheduled for April 12, has been postponed, without specifying a date. With the cancellations of Milan-Sanremo (March 21), the Tour of Flanders (April 5) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 26), four of the five "Monuments" of cycling are pending.
In Italy, the Giro, the first Grand Tour of the year, is postponed.
In Belgium and the Netherlands, the classic Ghent-Wevelgem cyclist, scheduled for March 29, has been postponed indefinitely, as has the Amstel Gold Race, scheduled for April 19.
In Spain, the Tour of Catalonia (March 23 to 29) has been postponed and the Basque Country Tour (April 6 to 11) canceled.
In Switzerland, the Tour de Romandie (April 28-May 3) has been canceled.
Six Nations tournament: four matches have been postponed: Ireland – Italy (March 7), Wales – Scotland, Italy – England and France – Ireland (March 14). They should be disputed at the end of October.
The Super Rugby, rugby union championship in the Southern Hemisphere, which brings together teams from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Japan, is suspended until further notice.
The quarterfinals of the European Cup and the European Challenge (April 3 to 5) have been postponed.
The English rugby championship was suspended Monday March 16 for 5 weeks.
The French rugby championship has been suspended until further notice
The Australian Grand Prix, the first round of the F1 World Championship scheduled for March 15, has been canceled. The next three, Bahrain (March 22), Vietnam (April 5) and China (April 19), are postponed to dates to be determined. The GPs of the Netherlands (May 3), Spain (May 10) and Monaco (May 24) are held here. The summer truce period from July-August has been moved to March-April and lengthened "From 14 to 21 days. "
World Rally Championship (WRC): the next round in Argentina (April 23 to 26) has been postponed to a date to be determined.
World Endurance Championship (WEC): the 24 hours of Le Mans has been postponed from June 13 and 14 to September 19 and 20. The 1000 miles of Sebring (March 20 to 21) are canceled, the 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps (April 23 to 25) are postponed to a date to be determined.
The Formula E season has been suspended for two months, since Friday March 13.
The IndyCar canceled all of its races until the end of April.
The first four Grands Prix (Qatar, Thailand, the Americas and Argentina) were canceled or postponed until the end of the year. The start of the MotoGP season has been delayed by two months, from March 8 to May 3.
The 24 hours of Le Mans motorcycles, scheduled for April 18 and 19, are postponed to August 29 and 30.
The Roland-Garros Grand Slam tournament, which was originally scheduled to take place from May 24 to June 7, is postponed from September 20 to October 4.
The men's (ATP) and women's (WTA) tennis circuits are suspended until June 7, the rankings are frozen.
The final phase of the Fed Cup scheduled for April 14-19 in Budapest, which was to bring together twelve nations, has been postponed.
