09.03.2020 18:17 h

Coronavirus forces Basel to play home Frankfurt clash away from city: club

St. Jakob Park (Basel)
St. Jakob Park (Basel)

FC Basel will be unable to play the second leg of this month's Europa League last 16 tie against Eintracht Frankfurt in their home city, the Swiss club announced on Monday, due to coronavirus-related restrictions.

"The second leg (19th March) of our @EuropaLeague Round of 16 clash with @Eintracht will not take place in Basel due to the Coronavirus outbreak in Switzerland," Basel said on Twitter.

In a statement, the club added they believed "several hundred visiting supporters would go to Basel and gather outside the stadium during the match".

The decisions comes after local police decided to bar the match from being played in the city, and the club did not indicate where the match might be held.

Last week the Swiss football league suspended the country's top-flight Super League until March 23 in an effort to help contain the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 3,800 people worldwide.

Contacted by AFP, UEFA said they were "studying all possible scenarios".