The coronavirus has reached football, with Juventus centre-back Daniele Rugani testing positive for the disease on Wednesday night.
The next step is clear: he will be isolated, his team will stop playing and their last opponent, Inter, will have to go into quarantine.
Inter had been scheduled to face Getafe in the Europa League on Thursday, but it was suspended on Wednesday afternoon.
Juventus, on the other hand, play Lyon in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie next week, a game that seems almost certain to be postponed due to this news.
Since the beginning of the crisis, UEFA have gone hand in hand with the decision of governments; they have waited and taken decisions at the pace set by the politicians.
The situation has changed as the days have gone by, though, and now it is time to apply common sense and responsibility.
From their headquarters in Nyon, UEFA are very clear that football is a game with a very important business component, but first of all there is the health of the athletes and the fans.
The appearance of the first positive coronavirus case in football invites us to think about a suspension of pending future events.
The question is being asked is clear: does it make sense to go ahead with the competition in this scenario?
The answer is clear and many authoritative voices, after listening to the experts, want to stop.
On Thursday, the Europa League is going to be played with suspended matches and games behind closed doors, while UEFA are already aware that Juventus will be unable to play against Lyon next week.
Given this scenario, and what may come, UEFA will apply this logic and will stop the competition, using this period to facilitate finding a solution that is in everyone’s best interests health-wise and then move forward with football, whether that is the Champions League or Europa League.
A sport, a game and a business made up of human beings, these are the most important things for UEFA.
