bit bfit mr— flit this weekend. looks a bit milder but we have to keep an eye on that rainfall. is thank you. that is it, so, goodbye from me, now on bbc one let us join that is it, so, goodbye from me, now on bbc one let usjoin our that is it, so, goodbye from me, now on bbc one let us join our news teams where you are. have a very good evening.

hello. the latest headlines for you now. the world health organization declares europe the focal point of the global coronavirus outbreak. in italy, the worst hit country, doctors feel the pressure as they treat patients in field hospitals. europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic. with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from

china. here, the premier league, premier efl, and scottish leagues are all. there is no nations rugby this week end. there is no guidance now. do not visit relatives in care homes. and how the border intends to tackle the virus. in a moment, it will be time for sports day, but a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. in half an hour at‘s time, we will be getting the latest on the coronavirus situation in the united states when president donald trump will be giving a speech, and then at eight o'clock we will get you up to speed on the latest lines here in the uk as europe is declared the epicentre of the disease, and at 1040 europe is declared the epicentre of the disease, and at101i0 and europe is declared the epicentre of the disease, and at 1040 and 1130, we will be taking a look at the

front pages of tomorrow's papers with the reviewers and guests. that is all head on bbc news. now time for sports day. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm sarah mulkerrins. coming up... a friday like no other in sport — elite football is suspended across the uk amid the coronavirus outbreak. in sri lanka, england cricketers are packing their bags for a trip home — that test series is called off. and the golf event like no other — the first major of the year, the masters, is postponed. also coming up in the programme... we've actually had some sport. al boum photo makes it back to back wins in the cheltenham gold cup. i will be live at cheltenham with reaction from that gold cup winning

trainer willie mullins. hello and welcome to sportsday. well, what a seismic 48 hours it has been in the world of sport amid the coronavirus outbreak. we've seen event after event being cancelled the world over. we won't have england hitting these heights in sri lanka — their test series is off. this time last year, we had the fairy tale comeback for tiger woods at the masters. no miracle could keep that on this year. that tournament is postponed. and with liverpool set to win their first league title in 30 years, what happens now forjurgen klopp and his side with the premier league suspended?

well, the bbc‘s sports editor dan roan is at anfield for us. and, dan, it's been an unprecendented 2 days in sport around the world. absolutely, yes. sport has never seen anything quite like this. what you have seen over the last 48 hours 01’ so you have seen over the last 48 hours orso in you have seen over the last 48 hours or so in effect is the collapse of the global sporting calendar, and just within today, let us recap what has been cancelled or postponed. overseas, formula 1. two more races falling by the wayside. that is for 110w falling by the wayside. that is for now that have been postponed. it means that the season won't start now until the beginning of may. the dutch grand prix, the first one, perhaps when the season will begin. the prestigious masters golf tournament will also be postponed. here in britain, six nations rugby. first, wales versus scotland we were told was on, and then later on in the afternoon we were told it was

off. that was also cancelled. the six nations of course will have to resume now in the autumn. the other two matches in the final round of games are already being cancelled. the london marathon we found out a short while ago, that is also gone. england's test series in sri lanka, that was scrapped. players were brought home. the devastation to the sporting calendar doesn't stop there either. we are yet to hear that all happen to the grand national or wimbledon, and of course earlier today, perhaps most importantly in terms of british sport and its effect, you had the entire season of professional football, both here effect, you had the entire season of professionalfootball, both here and england and across the united kingdom, suspended as well. but found itself in a difficult position cut between official government advice to carry on and mounting pressure to stop because of the fact that sport has being cancelled in so many places around the world. today you felt that pressure finally did turn. you just wonder. liverpool are

going for a first league title in 30 yea rs. going for a first league title in 30 years. where does that leave them in the league as a whole? absolutely. i can tell you that the hope within football, the fa and the efl and premier league, is that while the suspension will be reviewed at the start of april, i think there is a realistic acknowledgement that there is no way it will actually resume then because of the fact the virus isn't expected to peak until sometime after that in may or in june, but because there is now a growing expectation. the euro 2020 will be postponed until next summer in 2021, that may carve out some space for this extensive backlog of fixtures to actually be played and domestic leagues can resume. not just here but across the continent as well. as well as that hope, there is also growing fear perhaps that because of the outbreak, it may prove impossible and ultimately this season prove impossible and ultimately this season has to be simply abandoned. that would be incredibly cruel,

wouldn't it? on a club like liverpool, who stand on the brink of their first title for 30 years. other clubs as well. clubs that are chasing promotion like leeds united as well who have waited so long to get into the premier league. the hope remains that the season can resume. i think leeds are desperate to —— to do that but there is a danger. jurgen klopp simply said he supported the suspension and if it saved one life it would be worth it. thank you very much. well, we know the financial situation changes dramatically in football the further down the tiers you go. the football league have also suspended games until early april and the ramifications could be huge for all involved. our reporter katie shanahan has been at rochdale today. well, this league1 is currently ranked 19th in the table were supposed to be playing rovers as we

can, but as you can see the covers are on, and this club really depends on those ticket sales from fans entering this stadium, but without that money coming in, it means the clu b that money coming in, it means the club will not be able to pay their players or staff the wages. earlier i spoke to the rochdale chief executive david bottomley to find out the impact the coronavirus would have on this club. we have six home games left, and if we don't play them, we will be looking at one quarter of £1 million hole in our finances at least. at least in terms of the extra revenue we would have had in those games. it wouldn't push rochdale into administration but it depends how long it is going to go on for. if we are here in a year's time and you are asking that question, the likelihood is yes, because we couldn't go a year without a form of income. as you can see, it is completely shut and will be for the next three weeks, which could have a real impact on local businesses because, if there are no

home or away fans coming into the stadium, then that could put financial pressure on the local restau ra nts financial pressure on the local restaurants or even the local pubs, like the dale bar you see here. as many depend on that match day revenue, and there are ultimately no profits which could mean no existence. things have moved very quickly in the world of golf. this time yesterday, we were watching players compete in front of big crowds at the players championship in florida. that was cancelled overnight, and today we had the confirmation that the first major of the year, the masters, has been postponed. it's an event like no other on the calendar and only a select few get the invite to compete. ireland's james sugrue was one of them. he won the amateur championship last year, which earned him a dream ticket to augusta national. all the information that i have received is just that it has been postponed. i suppose that was a big relief, just to know it was

postponed and not cancelled. obviously if it was cancelled, it would have been very unlucky for myself, but just would have been very unlucky for myself, butjust delighted it is postponed and hopefully it will be up postponed and hopefully it will be up and running again sooner rather than later. now, is that i picture something related to the matter is behind you? is that what i have spotted? do you want to move your head slightly so we can see. there you go. augustine national. head slightly so we can see. there you go. augustine nationallj head slightly so we can see. there you go. augustine national. i think that was before, that was a really old one. that was the first ever tournament. it wasn't called the masters back then. it was the annual invitational. yes, it is a nice little picture. absolutely, and i suppose it goes to show what the masters means for golfers, and particularly for you as an amateur. these professional players may play ata these professional players may play at a masters every single year, but for you, this is special. yes, absolutely. i think most golfers

have grown up watching the masters from a very young age. a lot of people that i know have even taken the week off just people that i know have even taken the week offjust to people that i know have even taken the week off just to watch people that i know have even taken the week offjust to watch it. yes, it isa the week offjust to watch it. yes, it is a great sporting event, even for people who don't play golf or don't follow it, they still seem to be watching the masters come saturday and sunday, so yes it is the biggest event of the year for all the pros, so it is definitely my biggest event of the year. and how have preparations been going in the lead up to it? have you been playing differently? have you all the flights booked ? differently? have you all the flights booked? yes, everything was booked, flights and accommodation, including a lot of my friends and family's flights and accommodation. in terms of practice, i have been practising very hard and just i suppose augusta is a bit different in the sense that it is very hilly and slow be, so i have been doing a lot of practice on slopes with the

ball below my feet, above my feet, and all different types of things like that. you are an amateur at the moment and you are thinking of turning professional, and with this exemption and invitation you have, you can also go to the us open. i just wonder how this influences your decisions around your career now and whether you stay amateur or when you turn professional. i planned on turning pro after the us open, though i had a memorial at the very start ofjune and followed by the us open, but it all depends again on what they are going to do with the masters now. i don't know, but hopefully they are scheduled in may which would be nice. i know i haven't a clue to be honest as to when it is going to be scheduled, but i would like it to be done within the next month or so. it would suit me fine, but it doesn't mean much to those who are

organising the masters. we wish him well with his preparations for whenever they happen. that the player's perspective. let's now talk about fans. as we mentioned at the top of the show, england's test series against sri lanka has been postponed, and all players and staff will return to the uk as soon as possible. we know there's quite a loyal band of fans that travel the world following england, and i spoke to the managing director of the the barmy army chris millard about the impact of this on his members. we estimated there would be about 1000 to 2000 england cricket fans travelling for this trip. it wasn't going to be as big as the big last 218 months ago, so we have been there already, that was 250 people on that trip butjust on our travel group, and probably around 3000—4000 from england alone for that trip. it is going to be smaller because we we re is going to be smaller because we were there so recently. 1000 or 2000 england fans are already out there.

some of them are going out this weekend or going early next week, and madly trying to cancel their plans and decide to go on holiday. there is no precautions that the government is saying you can't travel to sri lanka. they say it is 0k to travel to sri lanka. they say it is ok to go there, but it is really getting back that people are worried about. what happens if they are quarantined while they are over there or if they were quarantined when they came back from sri lanka is much we have been giving everyone advised that if you can cancel your flights and hotel rooms and get your money back, then do so. how does it work in terms of refunds? are people getting refunds? if you have gone on and official travel package such as ours, and official travel package such as oui’s, you and official travel package such as ours, you will get a full refund as you are protected, but if you go independently which a lot of our members will have done, it will be down to who you booked with and who you travel with to see if you can get a refund, but sadly the cost

don't like it wasn't the government cancelling the event but it was the ecb and trying to cricket, there is refu nd ecb and trying to cricket, there is refund from the hotels and the airlines, which is a real shame from really true and lovely cricket fans that are over there at the moment to travel everywhere we go, work every day of their lives just to go on these tours, and sadly they are going to be out of pocket for it. from your organisation's point of view looking down the line in the future, how do you think this would impact on that? we will be ok, but we will lose money. i think every company within cricket too is associated with this trip will lose money. there might be some troubles ahead with regards to cancellations, negotiating with hotel chains and flights, trying to get as much money back as we can, and hopefully we will try and advise those who travel independently how they go about a refu nd independently how they go about a refund as well. one event that seemed to be going ahead all week was the six nations fixture. we send

oui’ was the six nations fixture. we send our own ollie foster down on the train, and you were long liked —— one like many other who had to contend with the fact that this picture was being called off. it was a real about turn from the welsh rugby union. before i got on that train from manchester, they released a statement this morning saying they were following the medical advice from the welsh government about large gatherings. 75,000 here, and they were going ahead with that. the only fixture still standing in the final round of six nations fixtures, remember. the final round tomorrow afternoon, but by the time i got off the the train, they had released another statement four hours later saying that whilst medical advice remains consistent, we decided it was in the best interest of our supporters, staff and players to fall in line with recent measures taken across the uk and global sports industries. all those things he had been talking

about for the last 20 minutes. for in particular, the shutdown of football in the uk. you just sense that was the wake—up call for the wru and that is what i put to their chairman gareth davies a little earlier. this morning, before we understood what the other sporting bodies were doing as well in terms of the afl, the premier league, and the celtic rangers match, plus worldwide, we understood that other major sporting events that were global such as the australian grand prix, players championship in jacksonville, they we re championship in jacksonville, they were also being pulled, so we made a decision. we spoke to the government in terms of whether they had changed their stance, but it had not changed until the weekend, but we decided as the board that the right decision was to call the game off. and what about the fans in cardiff and those who have travelled from scotland ? it was a packed train down. we broke

the news to several scottish fans. they kind of shrugged their shoulders, said it was inevitable, but there are many fans who travelled from further afield that we re travelled from further afield that were pretty upset because of this delay. they saw that first statement, didn't cancel their hotels, and of course you know how it works that if you don't cancel by lunchtime. there are many hundreds of fa ns lunchtime. there are many hundreds of fans that are hundreds of pounds out of pocket, and we spoke to a few on the streets today. it is very disappointing this late in the day, but i expected it. i actually said that yesterday on the way down on the plane, i said it this morning, andl the plane, i said it this morning, and i expect still expected it to be called off, but i am surprised it took this long to colour. they could have made a decision earlier on this, there are so many people travelling from so many places, and it is devastating. it is absolutely devastating. i don't know how to feel. i feel quite devastating. i don't know how to feel. ifeel quite numb devastating. i don't know how to feel. i feel quite numb about it. this is something we planned for, you save for, you can't get the

hotel back or the train fare back. that is already does make if it had been cancelled before hand, that is already does make if it had been cancelled beforehand, we could have cancelled and got at least things moved around. tickets, they will move on, but we will have to chip out for train and accommodation again. there is a feeling that the wru haven't handled this particularly well, so for six nations fixtures that will have to be rescheduled, they hope, in the autumn, but for those fans, it is a friday night in cardiff. i'm going to paraphrase one of the scottish fans that got off the train, he said, come on, lads, let's go have a rip roaring weekend, so despite nobody in here tomorrow afternoon, you just know the pubs, restau ra nts a nd clu bs, afternoon, you just know the pubs, restaurants and clubs, they will be very busy for the next few nights. ollie foster in cardiff. thank you very much. not too bad for business at the way things are at the moment. well, one event that has gone on over the last few days is the cheltenham festival. and al boum photo became the first

horse since best mate in 2004 to win back—to—back gold cups in a thrilling finish to the feature race. and lizzie greenwood hughes is there for us. well, honestly, we feel incredibly privileged that the racing has been able to continue. ollie was talking about the clubs and bars in cardiff. i tell you, this town of cheltenham, it really does rely on this festival. it makes a huge amount of money, and it has been very good for racing that it has been able to continue this week. we have had pretty good crowds and the official figure of 68,000 today, and if you, a couple of thousand down from the average, so pretty good. very few falls and very exciting finishes, and not least the finish to the gold cup, this is the elitejumps race of the season. this is the one they all wa nt to the season. this is the one they all want to win, and as you said, al boum photo winning in successive yea rs, boum photo winning in successive years, and it has been a wonderful festival for his trainer willie mullins. his seventh win of the

festival for today, and it mullins. his seventh win of the festivalfor today, and it was mullins. his seventh win of the festival for today, and it was that early success that caused the odds on al boum photo to tumble prior to the race. he went off the ten — three favourite. he was pushed all the levels that santini could have done it if it had been three furlongs. he might have pushed him over the line there, and lost in translation... it was a wonderful gold cup, but willie mullins told me he always had faith in the horse, and this is the horse that brought him his first ever gold cup after many years of waiting last year. he isa he is a very laid horse, just like his jockey. he is a very laid horse, just like hisjockey. paul came he is a very laid horse, just like his jockey. paul came here he is a very laid horse, just like hisjockey. paul came here with a lot of pressure this year, being numberone lot of pressure this year, being number one jockey for the first time in cheltenham for us, and he stamped his name on cheltenham and stamped his name on cheltenham and stamped his authority here now, so i am really pleased for paul. al boum photo bringing him the big one for the second year in a row, and all eyes and years will be

looking forward to the grand national. will there be any spectators if it happens? i was there when it had to run after a bomb scare and it was eerie and weird not having many there, but having no one there will be strange. we will have to wait and see whether the big one, the grand national, will be able to take place at all. thank you very much. that is enough of coronavirus impacted sport at the moment. let us end with some basketball. now to some basketball, and to one of the most famous courts in the world. this colourful creation is called the pigalle duperre, located in paris. it's been supported by lebronjames and it attracts people from all over the world. sumbal syed sat down with the creator of the court stephane ashpool to talk about the journey. basketball. one of the biggest sports on this planet, and with its

growing numbers in europe, i have come to paris to sit down with the man behind one of the world's most creative courts. let's go. the court has been 11 years now. lebronjames we re has been 11 years now. lebronjames were coming to paris back in 2009, and they wanted to come back to support the community project, and they came to say to me that we know that the court is grey and dirty, let us do something. that was the beginning. it was nice to see lebron james put some light on the court, and step—by—step it got better. i was born in the neighbourhood. that was born in the neighbourhood. that was my school. i live down the street. all my friends and people live around here, so this space was waiting for us. at my school, everyone was running after a soccer ball, and one guy tried... i fell in love, and i stopped running after a

soccer ball. on this court, there are people playing basketball and there is also people having photo shoots at the side. yes, of course. was that a goal for you when you created this court? the only goal that i had was a place to play basketball for myself and the kids around. and then it became popular for other stuff. i am around. and then it became popular for other stuff. lam happy, but that was not the goal. basketball has grown a lot in paris in france andl has grown a lot in paris in france and i am so proud to be part of it. it is my life. the life of the neighbourhood, the life of many kids. it is the place to go out from school where you are going to have ivy, school where you are going to have joy, protect you from the streets. it is healthy. it makes you have fun with the colour and makes you want

to take photos, so i love the nice environment for everyone. in the nba right now, there is a lot of european players coming in. how would it make you feel right now if one of these kids was the next star? first of all, i am very happy that people from all around the world make big moves in the nba. that is amazing when you see that. the mvp, rookie of the year, best defender player, they are all from europe, that makes me proud. secondly, i hope one day one of the kids will make it happen. i hope i will be alive. so here, we are at the pigalle duperre court. it is the... you have to stop by the station and you will have a lot ofjoy, my

friends. that was a tonic after all the earlier things that we saw. wonderfully colourful court, i'm going to have to get there to paris. various events have been taking place today for sports relief because remember there is the big show tonight. that'll be on bbc one from about seven o'clock, and just outside here at media city, we have had this penalty marathon coming on, because former player was taking 2020 penalties as part of it, and she is up against the comedian lloyd griffith who is in goal. that is ongoing right now, and the full show is going to be on bbc. nice penalties. it is going to be on bbc one. just one more thing to bring you, and in the last couple of minutes we have heard that sunday's premiership rugby final has now been postponed due to an individual involved

developing symptoms consistent with coronavirus. remember you can get all the latest on all the sports news around coronavirus and more broadly around the virus and how it may impact you on the bbc news website as well, just go there for all your information. but from me and the rest of the day's sports day team, it is goodbye for now. by buy. there is some rain on the way tonight. if it hasn't reached you already, in fact it has been raining across western and south—western parts of the uk, but there is not an awful lot of it. it is quite patchy. you can see the weather front moving across western areas through saturday, never quite reaching easter areas so it might stay dry. not desperately cold but cold enough

for a wet snow across the scottish hills. now saturday itself starts off fairly cloudy with patchy rain in the morning, but the weather will improve and we are expecting sunshine around the irish sea coast, through the midlands and down into the south, but the next weather system brings rain towards western areas of the uk during the course of saturday afternoon, so the weather will come and go, the rain, through the course of the weekend but also expecting a similar weather through sunday as well. both saturday and sunday as well. both saturday and sunday as well. both saturday and sunday a mixture of rain and sunshine.

today at 6pm, a patient in scotland dies from coronavirus. nearly 800 people have now tested positive for coronavirus in the uk. the world health organization says more than 5,000 people have now lost their lives worldwide. europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic. with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from china. we will bring you more on the situation in the united states in a moment. president trump will be giving his speech shortly. here, the premier league, english football league and scottish fa fixtures are all off until april, and there is no six nations rugby this weekend. there is a new uk guidance for those with flu—like symptoms, don't visit to relatives in care homes. shut

down