The opening round of the 2020 NRL season will continue as planned, but the second round will be played behind closed doors after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a ban on public gatherings.
After being advised by Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, the Prime Minister decided that by Monday, the government would be advising against any “non-essential, organised gatherings of 500 persons or more”.
According to NRL.com, National Rugby League CEO Todd Greenberg has informed all 16 clubs about how this will affect the upcoming rounds of the season.
“We’ve listened to the authorities who are in a far better position than we are,” he said.
“If the government gave us advice today to close the stadiums down, we would have. The measures they’re putting together are precautionary measures,
“We’re going to do everything we can to protect players from the disease. If that means a club can’t play a game in the competition, or be stood down for the round, we’ll do that.”
NRL players will play in front of empty stadiums from next week. Credit: News Images
The Prime Minister confirmed that he still plans on attending Saturday’s match between Cronulla and South Sydney as that it may be his “last chance to see my beloved Sharks for a while”.
The decision has been made in an attempt to stifle the increasing number of coronavirus victims in Australia, and the priority of the NRL is to ensure the safety of its players, staff and fans.
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