Azerbaijan GP off, no F1 race until mid-June

Baku: The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was postponed today because of the coronavirus outbreak, delaying the start of the Formula One season until the middle of June at the earliest. The first eight races of the 2020 season have now been either postponed or canceled because of the virus. The race at the Baku City Circuit was scheduled for June 7 but has been called off after discussions between governing body FIA and the local government. F1 races have been staged in Azerbaijan since 2017. The next race scheduled after Azerbaijan is in Canada on June 14.

Colombo
Sanga in self-quarantine after returning from UK

Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara has said he is currently in self-quarantine, following his government’s guidelines for those recently returning from Europe, which has now become the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic. “I have no symptoms or anything like that, but I’m following government guidelines,” Sangakkara said.

Paris
World Athletics ready to shift 2021 Worlds

World Athletics said today it was prepared to shift the World Championships in 2021 in order to accommodate a potential move of this year’s coronavirus-threatened Olympic Games. The World Championships are scheduled to be held in Oregon on August 6-15 next year.

Dortmund
Dortmund fans donate ^70,000 to bars, restaurants

Borussia Dortmund fans have donated more than ^70,000 to bars and restaurants around the stadium which have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bundesliga club said today. The German side posted the names of 86 food and drinks outlets during a ‘virtual football’ night on Sunday on the club’s website.

New Delhi
‘Will appeal for exemption of Ganguly’s cooling off period’

The original petitioner in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case, Aditya Verma, will appeal to the Supreme Court to exempt BCCI president Sourav Ganguly’s compulsory three-year cooling off period which starts in July. “Being the original petitioner on whose PIL the whole constitutional revamp happened, I have decided to file a plea that apex court should let Sourav Ganguly and his team continue for a term of three years,” Verma said. “My entire intention was to ensure BCCI has a transparent functioning. If a person of Sourav’s stature can’t complete his term, then what’s the use?” The second reason according to Verma is continuity.”

Paris
Half of French clubs ‘face bankruptcy’ after virus

Half of France’s professional football clubs could go bankrupt due to the coronavirus crisis, a top official said. Bernard Caiazzo, president of the group which represents clubs in the French top flight, also said that the season will not resume until “at best on June 15”.

Lagos
Nigeria player killed in car crash, another kidnapped

A soccer player formerly on Nigeria’s national team was killed in a car crash and another was kidnapped by gunmen while driving in a separate incident on the same day, their clubs said today. Ifeanyi George, who played two games for Nigeria in 2017, was killed along with club teammate Emmanuel Ogbu when their car collided with a parked truck on Sunday. Their deaths were announced in a statement from their club, Enugu Rangers. George was 26. Ogbu was a member of the club’s youth team. Also Sunday, Nigeria striker Dayo Ojo of two-time African club champion Enyimba and a player from a different team were kidnapped by gunmen. Agencies