The Prime Minister of Italy has this evening confirmed that all sporting activities in the country, including Serie A, have been suspended.
Italy’s worrying situation
The worldwide coronavirus crisis has of course been headline news across the globe over the last couple of weeks.
Italy has been one of the countries most harshly hit, with recent days having seen a major spike in confirmed cases.
An additional 1600 positive tests have been announced across Italy over the last 24 hours alone, taking the total number nationwide to over 9000.
More worryingly, though, have been the additional 97 deaths in this timespan, with Italy’s coronvirus casualty toll now sitting at 463.
The scale of the crisis has understandably begun to wreak havoc on the sporting calendar, too, with a number of rescheduled Serie A fixtures, including the Derby d’Italia, having been played out behind closed doors over the weekend.
Serie A suspended
As outlined above, though, the remainder of the Serie A calendar, and potentially the season as a whole, has this evening been thrown into major doubt.
This comes after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed that ‘all sporting tournaments’ have been suspended for the time being:
‘There is no more time, the numbers tell us there is a significant increase in the contagion, in intensive care and the deaths. Our habits have to change, we must sacrifice something for the good of all of Italy. This is why we will adopt even more stringent measures.’
‘I will sign the new decree, which can be summed up with the phrase ‘I am staying at home.’ There are no more red zones, there is just an Italy that is protected.’
‘We must avoid travel unless for proven work reasons, health reasons or other necessities. We ban large public gatherings.’
‘We also have more stringent measures in mind for sporting events. Serie A and all sporting tournaments in general are suspended. All the fans must accept that. There is no reason for these competitions to continue.’
It is as of yet unclear whether these measures will be in place only as far as April 3rd, the date until which it had previously been agreed that Serie A games would be played out behind closed doors.
Quotes via Football-Italia
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