Manchester City v Arsenal called OFF after Olympiacos owner revealed he had contracted coronavirus following Emirates visit – with ‘a number of players’ who met him

The Premier League postponed Wednesday’s match between Manchester City and Arsenal after Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis tested positive for coronavirus two weeks after watching his Greek team at the Emirates Stadium.

The 52-year-old, who spends his time between Nottingham and Greece, was at Arsenal’s stadium to watch his team play in their victorious Europa League last-32 tie on February 27.

The disease, which can cause a fever, cough and breathing problems, is spreading around the world and has already affected more than 116,000 people.

It has affected the staging of sporting events around the world, including European matches involving Manchester United, Rangers and Chelsea which will be held behind closed doors in Austria and Germany in the coming days, but this is the first match in the UK to be affected.

Arsenal revealed in a statement they have ‘identified that a number of players met the Olympiacos owner immediately following the game’ and have vowed to ‘strictly follow Government guidelines’.

That means those who were in close contract with Marinakis should self-isolate but they will be able to return to training on Friday, two weeks after they had contact with Marinakis. Arsenal have stated their players are ‘unavailable’ for Wednesday night’s match, which is now off.

Arsenal’s statement added: ‘The players will remain at their homes until the 14-day period expires. Four Arsenal staff, who were sitting close to Mr Marinakis during the match will also remain at home until the 14 days are complete.
‘We fully understand how disappointing this is for our supporters, in particular those who were travelling to Manchester for tonight’s match. Tickets will be valid for the match when it’s rearranged.

Marinakis penned a statement on Instagram on Tuesday confirming that he has contracted the coronavirus, just 12 days after attending the match in north London.