Finland's men's football season is ending early after several teams were forced to quarantine when their players were infected with coronavirus.
On Wednesday clubs met to discuss the issue and decided to ask the Finnish football association to sanction the planned playoffs, but later that evening four Rovaniemi RoPS players were quarantined after exposure to Covid.
The postponements made it impossible to finish the season before December, when the league's northernmost stadia usually get their first covering of snow.
As a result of the decision, it is highly likely HJK will win the men's championship. They can confirm that by getting a draw in their next match away against IFK Mariehamn or in their final game against Inter Turku.
Second-placed Kuopio team KuPS have one game left and have a vastly inferior goal difference, leaving them needing an improbable winning margin in their last match against TPS Turku to stand any chance of winning the title.
30.10: Updated to clarify that this story refers to the men's football series.