In a bid to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus all men's and women's sporting events in Italy will be played behind closed doors until at least April 4.

The Italian government made the decree on Wednesday night and it will be implemented in all areas of the country, including those where the virus has not yet been detected.

It also states that the responsibility of testing players and staff for the virus falls to the sporting organisations and clubs.

This ruling elongates an already extensive list of sporting events to have been affected by the outbreak including Olympic qualifying events and the Tokyo marathon.

The Japanese Olympic organising committee have assured fans that the games will still take place in 2020 but president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach insists there has been no talk of 'cancellation' or 'postponement'.

Italy has been the worst affected European country and at the time of writing has amassed over 3000 cases and 107 deaths.