Swiss hockey league ends season before playoffs due to COVID-19 concerns

HC Davos' Mattias Tedenby carries the puck. (Melanie Duchene/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland’s top hockey league, the National League, has announced it is ending its top two divisions’ seasons ahead of the playoffs due to concerns around the spreading coronavirus.

The decision makes Switzerland the seventh European hockey league to end its season early as a result of COVID-19’s impact, following the professional leagues in Austria, Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Switzerland is set to host the 2020 men’s world championship in Zurich and Lausanne in two months, though it’s unclear if the event will still be held. The 2020 women’s world championship — which was to be played in Nova Scotia beginning in late March — was cancelled earlier this month.

The National League will make decisions on awarding titles, promotion and relegation places at a meeting on Friday.

Switzerland’s soccer leagues have been suspended through March as well, while the Swiss club Basel is unable to host a Europa League game next week against Eintracht Frankfurt.

— With files from The Associated Press

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