No pre-match handshakes ahead of Portsmouth v Peterborough game as sports bodies and broadcasters are called to coronavirus contingency meeting
The meeting is part of the government's long-term contingency planning and will cover various possibilities, such as holding events behind closed doors, should the virus continue to spread and gatherings of large numbers of people are banned.
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Hide AdIt will be hosted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on Monday morning.
Another contingency reportedly being considered is banning over-70s from attending games.
The English Football League (EFL), along with the Premier League, has abandoned the traditional pre-match handshake until further notice.
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Hide AdThat comes into force straight away and will be imposed for Pompey’s League One trip to Peterborough today.
The third-placed Blues have 11 League One fixtures remaining this season, plus a trip to Wembley for the Leasing.com Trophy final against Salford on Sunday, April 5 – a game that will be broadcast live by Sky Sports.
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Hide AdOn Tuesday, it was revealed that Pompey had sold more than 42,500 Wembley tickets, with tickets going on general sale on Friday.
A statement released by the EFL on Friday said they were in regular contact with the government regarding coronavirus and would update clubs accordingly.
The statement read: ‘The EFL continues to remain in regular dialogue with the government regarding the ongoing developments and is being appraised on a regular basis of developments that could potentially impact our clubs and competitions
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Hide Ad‘We will continue to provide EFL clubs with updates and advice as it is issued to ensure that they have all the relevant up-to date information so that they can continue to advise their players, staff and supporters.
‘These matters are subject to constant change and we will update as appropriate.’
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