Euroleague Basketball is constantly monitoring the situation including WHO (World Health Organization) and national administration announcements and recommendations towards the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Euroleague Basketball is also in continuous contact with all 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup teams that are or may be affected by this exceptional situation.
Game changes due to COVID-19
Euroleague Basketball is constantly monitoring the situation including WHO (World Health Organization) and national administration announcements and recommendations towards the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Euroleague Basketball is also in continuous contact with all 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup teams that are or may be affected by this exceptional situation.
The Euroleague Basketball competitions will maintain their regularity to the maximum degree possible, ensuring that the home club provides safe and secure conditions for all participants.
March 12, 2020 : Euroleague Basketball competitions suspended
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.
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.
Euroleague Basketball will closely monitor any further developments to verify whether they allow the suspension to be reverted.
March 12, 2020 : Euroleague Basketball evaluating temporary suspension of its competitions
Following last night's declaration by the World Health Organization that the COVID-19 virus is now a pandemic, Euroleague Basketball has initiated a consultation with its clubs to temporarily suspend its competitions (Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, 7DAYS EuroCup, Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament).
The decision will be communicated later today.
March 11, 2020 : Milan-Olympiacos game to be played at Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin
The AX Armani Exchange Milan-Olympiacos Piraeus game for Round 29 of the 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season has been rescheduled to be played at Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin on Friday, March 13, 2020, with tip-off at 20:45 CET. The game will be played behind closed doors. Accredited media, except International Feed TV production company personnel, will not be allowed to access the game.
March 11, 2020 : Euroleague Basketball games in Italy to be relocated
Euroleague Basketball has been forced to temporarily suspend the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup games in Italy at least until April 11 and to relocate those games to other territories.
The following games, which were scheduled to be played in Italy during this period, will be moved to alternate arenas outside of Italy:
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AX Armani Exchange Milan EuroLeague Regular Season Round 29 against Olympiacos Piraeus.
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AX Armani Exchange Milan EuroLeague Regular Season Round 32 against LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne.
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AX Armani Exchange Milan EuroLeague Regular Season Round 34 against CSKA Moscow.
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Segafredo Virtus Bologna EuroCup Quarterfinals Game 2 against AS Monaco.
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Umana Reyer Venice EuroCup Quarterfinals Game 2 against Unicaja Malaga. Euroleague Basketball will communicate the final venue of each game during the following days.
The evolution of the situation will continue to be monitored with the relevant international and national authorities, as well as with the clubs, and any changes to the above measures will be communicated in due course.
March 10, 2020 : ALL GAMES
After consulting with Euroleague Basketball's Medical Officer, and to guarantee the safety and security of participating players and coaches, the following protocols have been established:
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Locker room access for accredited media has been cancelled until further notice for all Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games.
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Mixed zone access for accredited media has been cancelled until further notice for all Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games.
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A minimum distance of 1.5 meters between players/coach and media representatives must be maintained at press conferences.
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Euroleague Basketball recommends that all media availabilities held one or two days before each game take place at the press conference room with at least two players and the head coach attending, and respecting the minimum distance of 1.5 meters between players/coach and media representatives.
March 10, 2020 : EuroLeague Round 29 affectations
The Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv-Kirolbet Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz will have limited seating capacity to 2,000 spectators. Accredited media will be allowed to access the game.
The Real Madrid-Crvena Zvezda MTS Belgrade game will be played behind closed doors. Accredited media, except International Feed TV production company personnel, will not be allowed to access the game.
The FC Barcelona-Zalgiris Kaunas game will be played behind closed doors. Accredited media, except International Feed TV production company personnel, will not be allowed to access the game.
March 09, 2020 : LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-Zenit St Petersburg to be played behind closed doors.
The LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-Zenit St Petersburg game for Round 29 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season will be played behind closed doors. Accredited media will be allowed to access the game.
March 4, 2020 : Valencia Basket - AX Armani Exchange Milan to be played behind closed doors
Due to the Spanish government's prohibition on fans attending professional sports events involving teams coming from regions considered to be at risk of COVID-19 transmission, Euroleague Basketball confirms that the Valencia Basket-AX Armani Exchange Milan game for Round 28 of the 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season will be played behind closed doors on Thursday, March 5, at 21:00 local CET time, as scheduled.
To guarantee the safety and security of participating players, coaches and referees, to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and to maintain the regularity of the competition, no individuals – including fans, VIPs, nor additional club staff members – will be allowed access to the arena. Only the minimum necessary individuals – including players, coaching staff, referees, unified scorers, TV production company personnel, arena operations staff and medical staff – will be permitted access to the arena. Euroleague Basketball will continue to monitor the situation in all countries where Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup games are being played.
March 4, 2020 : Darussafaka-Virtus EuroCup game to be played in Stark Arena
The Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul-Segafredo Virtus Bologna game for Round 6 of the 2019-20 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 has been rescheduled to be played in Stark Arena, Belgrade on Thursday March 5 2020, with tip-off at 18:15 CET. The game was suspended by Euroleague Basketball due to the impossibility for the away team, Segafredo Virtus Bologna, to enter into Turkish territory.
At the request of the Serbian Health Ministry, the game will be played behind closed doors to guarantee the safety and security of participating players, coaches and referees, and to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
March 3, 2020 : EuroCup game Monaco-UNICS to be played behind closed doors
The AS Monaco-UNICS Kazan game for Round 6 of the 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 will be played behind closed doors.
Euroleague Basketball has taken this decision based on regulations applying World Health Organization and national administration guidelines that are currently in place in the Principality of Monaco and after consultation with Euroleague Basketball's Medical Officer. To guarantee the safety and security of participating players, coaches and referees, to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and to maintain the regularity of the competition, the home team has set special health security protocols for the game. No individuals – including fans, VIPs, nor additional club staff members – will be allowed access to the arena. Only the minimum necessary individuals – including players, coaching staff, referees, unified scorers, TV production company personnel, arena operations staff, medical staff and journalists – will be permitted access to the arena. Euroleague Basketball will continue to monitor the situation in all the countries where Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup games are being played.
March 3, 2020 : Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul-Segafredo Virtus Bologna EuroCup game suspended
The Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul-Segafredo Virtus Bologna game for Round 6 of the 2019-20 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 has been suspended due to the impossibility for the away team, Segafredo Virtus Bologna, to enter into Turkish territory.
Euroleague Basketball has taken this decision due to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs restricting access to the country for any individual that has travelled to Italy during the previous 14 days. Euroleague Basketball is in the process of evaluating alternative arenas in other countries as well as alternative dates to reschedule the suspended game. The details will be announced in the coming days.
March 1, 2020 : Milan-Real EuroLeague game, Brescia-Reyer EuroCup game to be played behind closed doors
The AX Armani Exchange Milan-Real Madrid game for Round 27 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season and the Germani Brescia Leonessa-Umana Reyer Venice game for Round 6 of the 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 will be played behind closed doors.
Euroleague Basketball has taken this decision based on regulations applying World Health Organization and national administration guidelines that are currently in place in the Lombardy Region of Italy and after consultation with Euroleague Basketball's Medical Officer. To guarantee the safety and security of participating players, coaches and referees, to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and to maintain the regularity of the competition, the home teams have set special health security protocols for the games. No individuals – including fans, VIPs, journalists nor additional club staff members – will be allowed access the arenas. As a result, traditional media availability activities surrounding the game have also been cancelled. Only the minimum necessary individuals – including players, coaching staff, referees, unified scorers, TV production company personnel, arena operations staff and medical staff – will be permitted access to the arenas. Euroleague Basketball will continue to monitor the situation in the Lombardy Region.