Play is stopped in Premier and Champions leagues

Play in both the Premier League and Champions League was suspended Friday as the coronavirus outbreak continues to affect soccer.

The French and German leagues also dropped plans to play this weekend. After Spain and Italy previously made similar moves, all five of Europe's biggest national competitions are now on hold.

Matches in England will be stopped until at least April 3 after five Premier League clubs said some players or staff were in self-isolation. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for the virus, as has Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi.

"I had the virus for the last couple of days, which I've recovered from," Hudson-Odoi said in a video posted on social media. "I'm following the health guidelines and self-isolating myself from everybody for the week. I hope to see everybody soon and hopefully be back on the pitch very soon. Take care."

UEFA said it was stopping next week's games in all competitions, including the two remaining Champions League matches that had not been already called off — Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea and Barcelona vs. Napoli, both scheduled for Wednesday.

Games involving Juventus and Real Madrid had already been postponed because those clubs quarantined their players.

The decision from UEFA came four days before a meeting to decide the European soccer calendar, including the possible one-year postponement of the 2020 European Championship.

Eight Europa League games scheduled for next Thursday were postponed. The quarterfinal draws in both the Champions League and Europa League, scheduled for next Friday, were postponed as well.

The German league had planned to hold this weekend's games in empty stadiums before voting on a suspension until April 2. Hours later, it backtracked and called the games off.

"This is crazy. Please stop fooling around and land on reality," Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara wrote on Twitter. "Let's be honest, there are much more important priorities than any sport."

In the German second division, two players from Hannover 96 and one from Nuremberg have tested positive for the virus.

The suspension in England also covers the Championship, League One, League Two and the top two women's divisions.

The lone holdouts in UEFA's top 10 ranked leagues are Russia, where some games have restrictions on the number of supporters, and Ukraine, where games are being played without fans.

Italian club Sampdoria said five of its players have tested positive for COVID-19 as well as a club doctor.

A day after MLS suspended play for 30 days, CONCACAF suspended regional Olympic qualifying play in Mexico. It's a decision that had Minnesota United midfielder Hassani Dotson home from Mexico with the U.S. nen's Under-23 team and back to Minnesota to train with his Loons. Qualifying for the Tokyo Games was scheduled to start March 20 in Guadalajara and end there April 1.

Staff writer Jerry Zgoda contributed to this report.