Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce leveled a blistering criticism of professional sports playing through the pandemic on Friday, a day before his team takes on Arsenal in the FA Cup.

The Magpies were the first Premier League team to have a game cancelled over a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak this season.

"Financially, it's right to play on, but for me, morally, it's probably wrong," Bruce said in his pre-match Zoom availability."I understand people want to see a game of football but we are just as vulnerable as everybody else. The speed which it hit our club within hours of each other, it was quite incredible how it rips through you. It's difficult to contain and stop and it leaves people sick."

Toon has been hit harder than most clubs by COVID-19 this season with captain Jamal Lascelles and winger Allan Saint-Maximin sidelined by the virus for six weeks. The club's initial outbreak saw a league match against Aston Villa cancelled last month and its training grounds shut down for a week.

Villa plays Liverpool on Friday with 14 first-team players unavailable for selection due to an outbreak, while Championship side Derby County's entire first team - including its interim manager Wayne Rooney - will miss their FA Cup tie with sixth-tier side Chorley on Saturday.

Bruce calls the situation untenable.

"It devalues the FA Cup," Bruce said. "We understand we are playing seven games in January, after seven in December, and the season has been squashed and there is no room for anything else. But to play weakened teams or youth teams - is that the way round it? Not for me."