Mako Vunipola was initially ruled out of playing for England against Wales this weekend on ‘Medical grounds.’
That was on Tuesday shortly after the burly, Tongan-born powerhouse prop had flown back to England via Hong Kong. He had been visiting Tonga to deal with some urgent family business.
It has subsequently been confirmed by the RFU, however, that the coronavirus threat was behind Vunipola’s non-appearance at the England camp this week.
Vunipola did not go anywhere near the camp on his arrival back in England. Instead he went straight into self-isolation
An RFU spokesperson said: “Mako is not in camp on medical grounds. He is not sick. It is merely a precaution.”
Travellers who have been in areas where the coronavirus has been prevalent have been advised to self-isolate. And this might mean Vunipola could also miss England’s Six Nations sign-off game against Italy on March 14.
Ireland-Italy game postponed
Ireland’s Dublin contest against Italy, due to have taken place this weekend, has been postponed, However, Six Nations organisers said this week the current intention is for all fixtures to be completed,
The Vunipola incident could well be the tip of the iceberg in so far as world sport is concerned.
Large crowds of spectators could be endangered as the virus spreads around the world. So too could some of the world’s multi-million dollar professional teams.
More and more matches and events could be abandoned or delayed if the virus keeps spreading. And, ultimately, this could come at great financial cost to the leagues, its teams and their players.
The newly established US sports betting industry could also suffer.
On a wider scale, meantime, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged football (soccer) organisations “not to panic”. They should think carefully before taking measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Several Series A fixtures called off
Several sporting events have been postponed and the football calendar is already facing problems. Italy’s Serie A, for one, has called off several fixtures over the past two weekends.
The Swiss government issued a ban on events where more than 1,000 people were expected to be in attendance. And this has resulted in the country’s Football Association postponing league matches until March 23.
Some English Premier League clubs have banned handshakes at training grounds amid fears that top flight league games could be affected.
Infantino, who last week admitted international matches scheduled to take place this month could be postponed as the outbreak continues to escalate, called for a considered approach to tackle the problem.
“Some of you have had to take important decisions in this respect,” he said at the UEFA Congress in Amsterdam… Every competition organiser has to study it of course and has to take decisions,”
It’s important not to panic
“It is important to consider all the information from the authorities, but it’s also important not to panic.
“Those who have to take decisions, like happened in Switzerland, will take decisions and then be able to move forward.
“Someone said to me football can be an antidote to coronavirus. I wouldn’t go that far, but sometimes football is an antidote to many other illnesses like discrimination and racism, and this is a fight we need to fight all together.”
One particularly problematic area for UEFA is the staging of Euro 2020 over 12 countries, with play-offs for the tournament taking place in two weeks.
General secretary Theodore Theodorakis said: “We are taking contact with the World Health Organisation and the different governments. We have to deal with it on a case by case situation. We do not want to overreact but we have created a line of contact.
“We have also had a meeting with the European Leagues [association] to create a coordinating group to find the best possible solutions. The calendar is already congested so working together is where we want to find the solutions.
“There are also different scenarios for the more urgent matches in two weeks’ time.”
“We are ready says UEFA’s Ceferin
UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin remained optimistic European football is ready to tackle the issue.
He said: “We have security concerns, political instability concerns and one of the concerns is the virus. We are dealing with it and we are confident we can deal with it.
“Let’s try to be optimistic and not think about dark scenarios. There’s time for that later.”
President of the Swiss federation Dominique Blanc was particularly foreboding with his warning.
“We are facing a situation which could shake professional football to its foundations. So, unfortunately, we will not be able to avoid scheduling postponed matches at the same time as UEFA
club competitions,” he told the Congress.
“If the situation persists we will not be able to avoid talking to UEFA about financial aid. It’s a worst-case scenario but it cannot be dismissed out of hand.”