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Concacaf acted quickly after MLS announced their league is suspending operations for 30 days, announcing on Thursday morning the Concacaf Champions League is suspending play indefinitely as well, which means Los Angeles Football Club’s quarterfinal first leg clash against Cruz Azul will not take place as scheduled Thursday night at Banc of California Stadium.
Here is the full statement on the matter from Concacaf:
At Concacaf the welfare of everyone associated with our matches and competitions is of paramount importance to us. We have been closely monitoring the public health situation as it has been evolving in the US and across the entire region. Given the developments last night, including new guidance issued by countries, cities and states, we have made the decision to suspend the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League with immediate effect. We are continuing to discuss arrangements for other upcoming Concacaf competitions and will make a further public statement in due course.
LAFC were scheduled to play Cruz Azul tonight in LA and then the return leg in Mexico City next Wednesday. Complicating matters is the quarterfinal round is already well underway, with the other three series already playing their opening leg this week.
That doesn’t matter with public health at risk, however. Cruz Azul are already in Los Angeles, and it’s unclear if traveling to the United States will mean they need to stay put or if they can return home and proceed with the Liga MX season for now as normal. For LAFC, the knock-on effects are more straightforward. While many fans will be unhappy this game and others have been postponed, it appears to be the right move to postpone games as a mitigation strategy and hope the coronavirus does not continue to spread at an alarming rate.
Please, wash your hands regularly, practice good hygiene, do not get into unnecessary close contact with others and do not go out if you feel sick.
Otherwise, what do you think? Let’s chat in the comments below.