Middle East war disrupts global sports as Finalissima cancelled, F1, MotoGP races postponed

The Middle East war has led to the cancellation or postponement of several global sporting events, including the Finalissima, scheduled to be held in Doha this month.

Lionel Messi's Argentina were set to play European champions Spain in the Finalissima on March 27. The marquee event was widely seen as the biggest match-up ahead of the FIFA World Cup, starting June 11.

The UEFA said in a statement that the Finalissima was cancelled "after much discussion between UEFA and the organising authorities in Qatar". The European football body cited the "current political situation in the region" as the reason.

"The first option was to stage the match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on the original date with a 50:50 split of supporters in the stadium," UEFA said. "This would have provided a world-class setting, befitting of such a prestigious event, but Argentina refused."

Meanwhile, Formula One was also heavily hit by the war between Iran and the combined forces of Israel and the US. F1's Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, scheduled for April, have been cancelled.

MotoGP also announced the postponement of its Qatar Grand Prix scheduled for next month. The event in Qatar is now expected to be held in November.

Recently, the ATP Challenger tennis event in Fujairah was cancelled due to safety concerns. In badminton, a few prominent players missed the All England Open due to flight cancellations. Among them was India's two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu, who was stranded in Dubai for a few days.

It remains to be seen if the ongoing war will affect Iran's participation in the FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States. President Donald Trump recently advised Iran not to participate due to safety reasons.