i think there is a difference this. i think there is a difference between here and china and italy. at the moment, i think it is ok. all sports, it's facing an unprecedented challenge. in football, manchester united's game in austria on thursday is now behind closed doors — while in rugby union england's and ireland's games in rome and paris this weekend have been postponed. unlike many european countries, sport in britain is carrying on for now, but, for many here, these are uncertain times. it's really frustrating that some sporting events might get cancelled, and no one really knows what's going to happen in the future, so i think, you know,

we are alljust hopeful that it doesn't get any worse and we can obviously stop it cancelling any of our fun, really. and today's crowd of 60,000 at cheltenham was 7,000 down on last year's opening day. epatante took the big race, the champion hurdle. amid the concerns, something for the fans to cheer as sport in britain presses on, but for how much longer? andy swiss, bbc news, cheltenham. that's it. newsnight getting under way with the news that the health minister is one of those who has tested positive for coronavirus during the day. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.

hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm sarah mulkerrins. coming up... three knockout blows for spurs in germany. tottenham are out of the champions league. there were fans in germany tonight, but next week chelsea will play behind closed doors amid concerns over coronavirus. and how about this for an away day destination — will new york have a superleague team one day? hello and welcome along to the programme. so, there was no miracle comeback for spurs in germany. tottenham are out of the champions league.

jose mourihno‘s side lost 3—0 to rb leipzig on the night at the red bull arena, 4—0 on aggregate in their last 16 tie. it may only have been a one goal deficit from the first leg, but it felt like an uphill battle based on tottenham's current form.... 0ur football reporter rob schofield is here. spurs were outclassed, weren't they? they are now seven points off the premier league top four. their season premier league top four. their seasonis premier league top four. their season is fizzling out. it got off toa season is fizzling out. it got off to a bad start for spurs early on. that was that goal punched home with a near post header. there was a scrappy a near post header. there was a scrappy exchange with the first touch. that was the kind of night it

was. joe is a marine yo has lost his last eight ties. it is a very worrying time for them. a lot of questions for him. the other game, valencia atalanta, it was being played behind closed doors. we know they had a big lead from the first leg. there were so many goals. expos will tell you that playing behind closed doors, you struggle for motivational little bit. not in this case. it went this way and that. it ended up 2—2. then 3—2. thought it could be a bit of a comeback there, but then we got a fourth goal. he becomes the oldest player in champions league history to score a

patrick. a really good night for the side. they go through to the quarterfinals and their fans were there to see it. they have been on great form all season. great story. thank you so much. they will be plenty more reaction to both those ties on the bbc sport website right i'iow ties on the bbc sport website right now and throughout the rest of the evening. it's been another day of sport dealing with the impact of coronoravirus. italy severely affected we know, and the football federation has confirmed that serie a will stop until 3rd of april and the season may not finish at all because of the outbreak. joe lynskey has been taking a look at the impact. france, spain and parts of germany at the latest european countries to ta ke at the latest european countries to take sport behind closed doors to contain the coronavirus outbreak. that means two more championship fixtures next week will be played

without fans, including chelsea second leg. a local rule in bavaria means no supporters will be at that match. in spain, even wider measures have been announced today. barcelona, the five—time european champions will also play their knockout game next week inside an empty stadium. that is going to be the case for all domestic matches in spain's top two divisions for the next fortnight. in those divisions, the next two rounds of fixtures at least will be played behind closed doors. that is after guidance from spain's ministry of health. the decisions of individual nations are making things more complicated in european football competitions. there is a full round of europa league fixtures on thursday, but manchester united will play their first league match without fans watching and, as it stands, that is

also the case for wolves. they are playing away the greek side 0lympia cross on thursday. as it stands, that will be behind closed doors. but there has been a letter to the governing body asking them to postpone the match completely. that is in part due to the admission today of 0lympiacos's owner. it is understood he has symptoms of coronavirus after a visit to greece. things are still up in the. things are due to take place right in the heart of the italian north, but all support has been suspended in italy for the time being. inter milan i due to be playing... behind closed

doors. normally, the away side would have to arrive in milan 24—hour is beforehand. getafe now want to turn up beforehand. getafe now want to turn up on the day of the match. they have asked uefa if they can do that. wondering if there will be any domestic matches to play this season. domestic matches to play this season. serie a is off for the time being. problems caused any big continental competitions. let's have a look at some of the day's other headlines. katie 0rmerod has become the first british snowboarder to win a world cup title. she finished on the podium in all four of this season's slopestyle events to top the standings and was given the title today when the final meeting in the czech republic was cancelled because of coronavirus. the former england wing chris ashton says he is shocked at the manner of his departure from sale last week. his contract was terminated and though ashton says

there was a disagreement with the coaching staff he says he wasn't aware of any problem. he has nowjoined harlequins. ireland's kevin o'brien hit a six off the final ball of a t20 super—over to beat afghanistan in india. they still lost the three match series 2—1. the favourite epatante gave owner jp mcmanus a birthday to remember with victory in the champion hurdle on the opening day of the cheltenham festival. barry geraghty had the 2—1 shot, trained by nicky henderson, well—placed throughout in tuesday's showpiece race. and it was a ninth success in the race for mcmanus, who was celebrating his 69th birthday. we all know it is a year's effort from me. from the whole teams point of view, these are the days that count more than anything in the world. identity anyone is disputing

that. —— world. identity anyone is disputing that. -- i world. identity anyone is disputing that. —— i don't think anyone is disputing that. i won't win the grand national anyway. this is where it counts. it has been a happy race for us. there was another grade 0ne victory for jockey rachael blackmore aboard honeysuckle in the mares' hurdle. blackmore started the week as third favourite to be the meetings leading jockey and demonstrated all her ability. new york look set to become the first american side to play in rugby league's challenge cup when theyjoin the competition next season. the games authorities say they are in advance talks with the club, who hope to join toronto and ottawa in joining the league the year after. new york announced their bid in liverpool today, which will become their uk base. adam wild was there. the port of liverpool has witnessed the start of many greatjourneys. plenty heading to new york. today,

another launch, but this time it seems new york is coming here. negotiations are at an advanced stage for a new york rugby league to enter the competition in 2021. that strea m enter the competition in 2021. that stream is now certainly closer than ever. before that, they need a team and they need some fans. how do you go about building a club in an area where there is no great rugby league interest? it is easy to say there is no rugby league interest. i've been over to the states before and i've been to watch games at the australian buyers and irish pubs and whatnot. there is a fan base out there. we will put on a showcase mixture of what we can do and what can achieve. with the challenge cup, with the australian teams and the international teams that come to play against us, it is certainly something we can prove, that we

deserve to be in that competition. there is precedence in the north american expansion. 0ttawa announced they werejoining ligue american expansion. 0ttawa announced they were joining ligue one. american expansion. 0ttawa announced they werejoining ligue one. they now play against the game's elite in the super league. can you new york really do the same? they think it's crazy, they love watching it, the more you show them the more they get into it. it seems like a big task, but i don't think it is. this team have worked really hard,... key to the deal is new york's relationship liverpool. it is an established venue for rugby league. and now, an international clu b league. and now, an international club is trying to make the city its second home. when we came across the opportunity, the idea that new york are looking for a uk base. , we

thought that liverpool would be a natural choice for them. it gives them a great experience for their tea m them a great experience for their team to participate. toronto wolf pack remain the example of what might be possible. starting a rugby league club from scratch with an area of no real rugby heritage, no players, no coach, no stadium, remains a huge undertaking, and there will be plenty of people around the world both inside and outside of the game watching new york's journey very closely. didn't get the best day for it, did he, adam? that's all from sportsday. you can find more information on the bbc sport website. you can find more information on the bbc sport website. coming up in a moment, the papers.

hello and welcome to our letterhead to what the papers will be bringing to what the papers will be bringing to us tomorrow. the chancellor is due to unveil the budget. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. let's start with the financial times. it says that rishi sunak signals the end of austerity. the chancellor's first budget reveals the biggest borrowing rise in ten yea rs, the biggest borrowing rise in ten years, turning on the spending caps for infrastructure and the nhs. it isa similar for infrastructure and the nhs. it is a similar story in the guardian full stop they call it the coronavirus budget. budget billions

to beat the virus is on the daily mail, talking about a 600 million pounds boost for infrastructure projects. virus sufferers given bra kes projects. virus sufferers given brakes on their mortgages amid fears that the virus will plunge the uk into recession. in the times, the health minister nadine dorries is diagnosed with the virus and is now in isolation. she has met hundreds of people in parliament and been at number ten with the prime minister. and something different in the mirror. the parole board is set to considerfreeing jon mirror. the parole board is set to consider freeing jon venables. there is no doubting the two big stories dominating the papers today and the two of them are sort of interwoven, really. let's start with the