The tie between Ulaanbaatar City and Taipower Company has been pushed back ©AFC

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has said no East Zone matches will take place in the AFC Cup until April due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Group stage, preliminary and play-off clashes are all affected by the decision which has been made after discussions with clubs.

"Taking into consideration the overall logistical arrangements as well as match preparations of the East Zone participating clubs, the AFC has decided that the AFC Cup 2020 East Zone preliminary, play-off and group stage matches will be postponed and will recommence on April 7, 2020," an AFC statement said.

Mongolian champions Ulaanbaatar City were due to take on Taiwanese side Taipower Company in an East Asia zone preliminary round clash this month.

Matches were scheduled for February 5 and today but were postponed due to travel restrictions.

Ulaanbaatar City will now play the home leg of the tie on April 7 before travelling to Taiwan for the second leg on April 14.

The winners will go through to play Hong Kong's Kitchee in the play-off round, with the winners of that tie reaching the group stage.

It has also been confirmed that Turkmenistan side Ahal FK have been removed from the competition after failing to show up for their Central Asia preliminary round match at FC Neftchi.

This means the Kyrgyzstan side have automatically gone through to the play-off round where they will face Tajikistan's Khujand.

Ho Chi Minh City drew 2-2 in Myanmar yesterday instead of hosting the clash ©AFC/Twitter
Ho Chi Minh City drew 2-2 in Myanmar yesterday instead of hosting the clash ©AFC/Twitter

Coronavirus had already forced a change in schedule for Vietnamese teams playing in the AFC Cup, the second-tier club competition in Asia after the AFC Champions League.

Home and away games have been reversed with Ho Chi Minh City travelling to Yangon United yesterday instead of hosting the Myanmar side.

It ended in a 2-2 draw.

Than Quang Ninh of Vietnam will now play Ceres Negros in the Philippines on February 25, instead of hosting them.

The rescheduling of AFC Cup matches follows disruption to the AFC Champions League and the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament because of coronavirus.

Since originating in Chinese city Wuhan, the outbreak has caused the cancellation or postponement of numerous other sporting events.

There are now more than 45,000 cases and more than 1,110 deaths, with the vast majority of these in China.

Twenty-eight countries and territories have had people infected, with the World Health Organization declaring a global emergency.