Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has said the Premier League season should be voided, which would mean Liverpool's 30-year wait for the trophy would continue.

Professional football in England is on hold, while sports across the world have been suspended following the outbreak of the coronavirus.

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No Premier League football will take place before April 30 at the earliest, while Euro 2020 has been postponed for a year. The Champions League and Europa League finals have been suspended indefinitely.

Liverpool are 25 points clear at the top of the Premier League but Ferdinand, who won six league titles during 12 years at United, said: "I just think the Premier League should be void. Void it.

"I know there's going to be a lot of Liverpool fans going: 'oh, Rio, just because you used to play for Man United.'

"I just don't see a way that can be done where health isn't compromised. Simple as that. All this behind closed doors business -- you're still going to have players there, are the players not part of society?

"There are players who are going to go down with the illness who might not have recovered, or catch it from someone then it spreads to other players. It won't be fair, it's not a level playing field. I just don't feel it's right."

The Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal was the first Premier League game to be postponed. After Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta and Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi confirmed they tested positive for the coronavirus, the Premier League called an emergency meeting where it was decided that play should be suspended.

Arteta is recovering well, while all Premier League clubs are not training at present. England's football authorities will delay the start of the 2020-21 season until the last ball has been kicked in the 2019-20 campaign, with sources telling ESPN that this year's Premier League and EFL seasons will "absolutely finish before the next one begins."

Ferdinand, speaking on Instagram, added: "There are going to be people in the stadium, security, it puts everyone at risk.

"All this, 'oh we're going to win this' or 'so-and-so might go down,' you've got to put those type of things to one side.

"This is about life and death situations, about society in the wider grand scheme of things. Football it ain't that serious in that sense.

"Listen, we all love it but it ain't life or death, when it comes to matters like this, you've got to put people's heath before anything."