South Korea postpones football season

SEOUL: South Korea’s K-league postponed the start of the new football season on Monday as a leap in novel coronavirus cases wreaked havoc across its sporting calendar.

The K-league, one of the strongest in Asia, was scheduled to start this weekend. Volleyball, basketball and handball have taken similar measures as cases spiked to 833 in South Korea, with seven deaths.

“The K-league has decided to temporarily postpone the start of the 2020 K-league season until the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak eases,” the football body said after an emergency board meeting. “This is a measure to protect the health and safety of the citizens and our players with the highest priority against the outbreak of the COVID-19 which has entered a serious phase,” it added.Matches featuring Daegu FC, based in the city that is the epicentre of the South Korean outbreak, and nearby Pohang Steelers, had already been delayed.