Zurich
The IIHF Council has confirmed that the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championship scheduled to take place in Zurich and Lausanne has been cancelled because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
The decision to cancel the tournament didn’t come as a surprise after IIHF President Rene Fasel acknowledged the likelihood of that happening following an IIHF executive committee conference call Tuesday.
Fasel cited numerous challenges facing officials, ranging from health directives in place limiting attendance to travel bans making it difficult for nations to send their teams. Another issue was players lacking practice time, with most of world’s hockey leagues having either indefinitely suspended or canceled their seasons.
On Monday, the NHL announced it will wait 45 days before it can provide guidance on when teams can potential reopen practice.
‘’It’s really scary,’’ said Fasel, who lives in Switzerland. ‘’Europe is just collapsed. It’s really a strange feeling. Our neighbors yesterday, the federal counsel decided to close all the restaurants and everything. It’s like war.’’
The owners of the Boston Bruins say they have established a $1.5 million fund for employees of the team and TD Garden who have lost work because of the suspension of the NHL season.
The Bruins were the last team in the league to commit to taking care of part-time and game-day employees.
According to a statement from the team, the Jacobs family would help workers ‘’who will be financially burdened if the six remaining regular season Bruins games are not played.’’
The NHL suspended its season on March 12 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Even though his side could potentially reach the Champions League quarterfinals, Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas wants the French league to take priority.
Matches in both competitions are currently suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak. ‘’If we want to save the (French) league we must absolutely finish before June 30,’’ Aulas told RTL radio. ‘’You have to make choices, be brave. Drop the Champions League, the (domestic) cup finals and international matches. Concentrate only on the (French) league.’’
Aulas added: ‘’I want the league to finish. Even in empty stadiums.’’ Lyon leads Italian champion Juventus 1-0 from the first leg of their last-16 match in the Champions League on Feb. 26. The return leg in Turin has not been played because of the outbreak.
Marseille President Frank McCourt wrote to reassure the French soccer club’s employees after they were put on temporary, technical layoffs.
‘’I am taking a few minutes to make sure you and your families are well,’’ McCourt said. ‘’We are going through this difficult time together and we’re seeing governments getting better and better organized.’’
Marseille and other top-tier clubs have started putting players on temporary, technical layoffs, which translates to a cut in pay of 16 percent with the state picking up a portion of that to a monthly maximum of 5,400 euros ($5,810).—AP
