FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA counterpart Aleksander Čeferin today called for calm regarding the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on football across the world.
Speaking at UEFA’s Congress in Amsterdam, Infantino said it was important for football authorities “not to panic” over the spread of the virus.
Leagues in Switzerland and Italy are among those to have been impacted by the virus, which has so far killed 3,137 people and infected more than 90,000 worldwide.
But Čeferin followed Infantino in urging caution, claiming there was no need to focus on “dark scenarios” despite the outbreak.
The UEFA President has also sought to allay fears this year’s pan-continental European Championship, which opens in 101 days, may be postponed or cancelled because of the virus.
“We are dealing with it and we are confident that we can deal with it,” the Slovenian said.
“You don’t know how many big concerns we have: we have security concerns, political instability and one is also the virus.
“Let’s try to be optimistic, not think about dark scenarios – there’s time for that later.”
Dozens of events have been postponed, cancelled or relocated amid the virus, which has spread to more than 60 countries.
The Swiss Government imposed a ban on mass gatherings of 1,000 people or more, prompting the postponement of the Swiss Super League after clubs rejected holding matches behind closed doors.
Five matches in Serie A, the top domestic league in Italy, were also been postponed last weekend.
Italy has the most reported coronavirus cases outside of China and South Korea and Iran.
France’s Noël Le Graët was elected to the FIFA Council as a European representative at the Congress, while Germany’s Rainer Koch has joined the UEFA Executive Committee.
Both roles became vacant following the resignation of Reinhard Grindel, who stepped down in April after allegations of undeclared earnings and the acceptance of a watch as a gift.
French Football Federation President Le Graët had already replaced Grindel in the FIFA role on a temporary basis and was confirmed as the only candidate to succeed him permanently by UEFA in January.
