Euroleague basketball tournament suspended due to coronavirus

The Euroleague Basketball organization confirmed on Thursday that it is suspending all games "until further notice" due to the risk of the coronavirus.

The decision taken by the Barcelona based organization, which runs the most important basketball competition in Europe comes in the wake of the announcement that the NBA in the United States was also suspending matches due to Covid-19.

In Spain the domestic Liga ACB basketball league has also been suspended for the next two weeks, along with all non-professional football.

"Euroleague Basketball has been closely monitoring the latest developments regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, namely the consideration by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the outbreak is a pandemic, the increased risks for all participants in games, the increasing restrictions of movement across Europe, the vast amount of traveling disruptions causing the impossibility to reach certain destinations, and the different recommendations by the health authorities that may be helpful to prevent the spread of the virus," explained the Euroleague in a press release.

The organization explained that: "as a consequence of the above it has become impossible to maintain the regularity of the competitions, and in order to preserve the health and safety of the participants and fans, Euroleague Basketball in agreement with its clubs has taken the decision to temporarily suspend all 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, 7DAYS EuroCup and Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament games until further notice."

The news comes after Spanish TV network "La Sexta" that a member of the Real Madrid basketball squad has tested positive for Covid-19.

Madrid had played a Euroleague tie behind closed doors in Milan on March 3rd and their team has played two games since then.