Sheffield United's high-profile friendly is postponed

The team, composed of the best young players from the Kingdom’s Pro League, were scheduled to visit Bramall Lane on Tuesday for a high-profile friendly with members of United’s academy.

But with the Kingdom’s government taking steps to try and prevent the spread of the disease, including sealing-off its oil-rich Shia region, closing schools and suspending travel to nine countries, the fixture could now be rearranged for a later date.

Although the Falcons are based in Spain, where the Saudi Football Federation has established its elite performance programme, heir trip to South Yorkshire fell victim to the crisis as a number of countries introduced measures to try and limit contagion.

Officials in both England and the Middle East are expected to liaise with competition chiefs in both regions before a final decision is taken on a potential new date.

United, who are owned by Saudi royal HRH Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, announced the match towards the end of last month amid speculation it could mark the start of a period of closer cooperation with football chiefs in the 55-year-old’s homeland.

Jan van Winckel, a United board member and one of Prince Abdullah’s tmost trusted advisors, also holds a senior position with the SFF.

The Falcons faced Legia Warsaw, Real Sociadad and Sint Truiden last month, losing to the Poles before recording wins over both the Basques and the Jupiler Pro League outfit.