LAFC’s Champions League quarterfinal is postponed over coronavirus concerns

LAFC’s Champions League quarterfinal with Mexico’s Cruz Azul, scheduled for Thursday at Banc of California Stadium, will not be played after CONCACAF, the governing body for soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, announcing it was pausing the regional tournament indefinitely.

The decision was announced less than an hour after MLS suspended its season indefinitely in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and following a late Wednesday recommendation from the California Department of Public Health that all public gatherings of more than 250 people be canceled.

It marks the first time the state has asked all residents to adopt so-called social distancing measures and represents a new sense of urgency in the administration’s approach to fighting the virus in a state with 177 confirmed cases.

The two-leg playoff between LAFC and Cruz Azul was the only one of the four Champions League quarterfinals that had not started. Other teams still alive in the regional tournament are the Montreal Impact, Atlanta United and New York City FC of MLS, Club America and Tigres UANL of Mexico and Olimpia of Honduras.