Today’s game between Man City and Arsenal (11 March, 2020) has officially been called off- the first soccer game in England to be postponed due to the Coronavirus. The game was originally supposed to take place on March 1, 2020, but was first postponed due to Man City’s League Cup final against Aston Villa. The rescheduled date was March 11 (Wednesday), but that too, now, has been called off as a precautionary measure.
Why has Man City vs Arsenal been postponed due to Coronavirus?
Arsenal played Olympiakos in the Europa League late last month, and Olympiakos’ owner has just tested positive for Coronavirus- he announced the news yesterday (March 10, 2020). UK government guidelines require anyone who has come into contact to undergo a self-isolation procedure for 14 days, and this City v Arsenal game falls before the end of that fourteen day period.
Some Arsenal players were in contact with Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis during that EL fixture, which has lead to the club adopting this procedure as a precautionary measure.