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Fans banned from Barça v Napoli Champions League tie over coronavirus fears in Spain

Barcelona's Champions League round of 16 return match against Napoli on March 18th has been ordered to be played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus outbreak, both clubs announced Tuesday.

Published: 10 March 2020 12:32 CET
Fans banned from Barça v Napoli Champions League tie over coronavirus fears in Spain
Fans at El Clasico on March 1st wearing masks. Photo: AFP

“The Champions League match scheduled for Wednesday, March 18th, between FC Barcelona and Napoli, will be played at Camp Nou behind closed doors,” the Spanish giants said on Twitter.

Two other Champions League matches — Tuesday's tie between Valencia and Atalanta in Spain, and Wednesday's Paris Saint-Germain v Borussia Dortmund match — are scheduled to be played in empty stadiums in efforts to curb the
spread of the killer virus.   

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PSG's match at the Parc des Princes was forced behind closed doors after the French government announced a ban on all gatherings of more than 1,000 people in a country where 1,412 cases of COVID-19 infections have been recorded and 25 deaths.

The announcement was closely followed by the postponement of the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland scheduled for Saturday in Paris.

Spanish club Valencia's match against Atalanta was considered high risk and ordered behind closed doors because the Italian side come from Bergamo in the Lombardy region, one of the areas of Italy most affected by the virus.

Italy, Europe's worst-hit country with 9,172 cases and 463 deaths, on Monday banned all sporting events until April 3rd, suspending all Serie A football fixtures.   

Barcelona said the match would be played without spectators in line with recommendations from the regional Catalan government.   

The decision was taken following a meeting between club officials and Catalan medical staff earlier Tuesday.

“The decision was taken on medical grounds,” Catalonia's health chief Joan Graux said following the meeting.   

Napoli, meanwhile, were forced to deny press reports that they had asked for the match to be postponed.   

“Napoli abides by decisions taken by the Italian government and UEFA.” the club tweeted, describing the reports as fake news.

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HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Published: 3 May 2024 08:06 CEST
Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

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Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

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