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.

It 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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That 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.

On 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

‘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.’