The spread of the corona virus in northern Italy continues to influence football in the country of the four-time world champion. Several Serie A matches, including the match scheduled for Sunday evening (01.03.2020) between league leaders Juventus Turin and third Inter Milan, will be held with the government’s approval in camera.
The Europa League match between Inter and Bulgarian champions Ludogorez Rasgrad on Thursday (first leg 2-0) will also be a ghost game. Italy reported its fifth virus death on Monday and has the most confirmed cases in Europe. The Champions League game between SSC Napoli and FC Barcelona on Tuesday evening is not at risk.
Another game of Serie A canceled
“It is right to take precautions”, said Lazio Roma coach Simone Inzaghi, but was also against ghost games: “The answer is not to play games behind closed doors because the fans are at the heart of our sport. It is right to share football with the fans. We have to find an alternative solution to this problem.”
After four Serie A games were not played on Sunday because all sporting events in Lombardy and Veneto were canceled, further matches have to be postponed. The game scheduled for Friday between Udinese Calcio and AC Florenz was canceled.
Japan: J-League cancels all games until March 15th
The first Japanese soccer league, J-League, has canceled all matches up to and including March 15 due to the spread of the corona virus. The league had previously decided to postpone the seven games of the Japanese cup competition scheduled for Wednesday. The league responded to the assessment of experts who consider the coming one to two weeks to be crucial “to prevent the further spread of the new corona virus,” said the league.
Table tennis World Cup postponed
The table tennis world championship in South Korea has been postponed due to the spread of the corona virus. The world association ITTF announced on Tuesday. The event was scheduled for March 22-29 in Busan. The ITTF plans to make up for the World Cup between June 21 and 28. “We will continue to work hard in cooperation with all those responsible in Busan and are therefore sure that we will organize a great World Cup in June”, it says in an ITTF message.
Other sporting events questionable
In addition, other sporting events are on the brink. The ski racers are supposed to ski in La Thuille (Super-G and combination) next weekend, the cycling classic Milan-Sanremo is scheduled for March 21, the same week (March 18-22) the season finale of the alpine ski racers in Cortina d ‘Ampezzo (men and women) with a total of nine competitions.
A summit meeting of Italy’s National Olympic Committee CONI with Minister of Sport Vincenzo Spadafora is planned on Tuesday to discuss the situation. “Our duty is to support government decisions that are taken in the interest of public health”said CONI boss Giovanni Malago.
sid / red
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Status: February 25th, 2020, 10:26 am
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