MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Russia’s Football Union (RFU) said on Tuesday all matches of the Russian Cup, the Russian Football National League (FNL), the Professional Football League and other its tournaments will be suspended until April 10 in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"Taking into account the risks of the coronavirus infection spread in Russia, all football matches held under the RFU’s auspices, including matches organized/held by the leagues, regional football federations and their association, will be suspended from March 17, 2020 until April 10, 2020," the RFU press service said.

On Tuesday, the Russian Premier League (RPL) also announced the suspension of its matches until April 10.

A pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 virus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s city of Wuhan, a large trade and industrial center with a population of 12 million, in late December 2019. Cases of the new coronavirus have also been reported from more than 130 countries and territories, including Russia, which has 93 coronavirus cases. The World Health Organization says that the novel coronavirus cases across the globe have exceeded 180,000, with more than 7,000 deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially described the situation with the novel coronavirus as a pandemic.