The Italian government is moving toward having soccer matches played behind closed doors in affected areas as authorities try to contain a spreading coronavirus that has made northern Italy the focal point of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe.
Tomorrow’s UEFA Europa League match at San Siro between Inter and PFC Ludogorets was the first to be confirmed as going ahead in an empty stadium, with the Italian club releasing a statement on Monday night.
Bulgarian side Ludogorets added that UEFA has said it is monitoring the situation and would react immediately if anything changes.
Serie A president Paolo dal Pinto on Monday sent a letter to the Italian government asking that matches no longer be postponed in the affected areas, but played without fans — noting that there is little time for makeup dates considering all elite soccer competitions must be completed by May 24 because of Euro 2020.
Italian Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora proposed the closed-door plan to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte — although no final decision had been made.
“Playing all sports behind closed doors for the next week could be possible, because then fans can more easily stay at home, but the clubs have to be in agreement,” Italian Federation of Sports Medicine president Maurizio Casasco said. “There’s more than just soccer in Italy. It’s an issue that regards all sports.”
Four Serie A games scheduled for Sunday were postponed, including Inter’s game against UC Sampdoria at San Siro in Milan.
Juventus, based in Turin, are scheduled to host Inter on Sunday.
Other games scheduled for northern Italy include Udinese against ACF Fiorentina on Saturday and AC Milan versus Genoa on Sunday.
Olympique Lyonnais were in contact with UEFA and French authorities over concerns about the 2,500 to 3,000 Juventus fans traveling over the border to a UEFA Champions League game in the French city today.
Juventus shares fell 11 percent on the Milan Stock Exchange on Monday, forcing a suspension in trading.
The club also announced that its museum at the Allianz Stadium would remain closed until Saturday. Stadium tours were also suspended.
Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago on Sunday said that playing games behind closed doors was “problematic,” but it might be the only solution.
With fewer concerns in southern Italy, SSC Napoli’s Champions League match against Barcelona yesterday was due to be played as planned.
Meanwhile, the Italian Winter Sports Federation has suspended all of its events throughout the nation for the week, although it said that “for now” the weekend’s World Cup races in La Thuile in the Valle d’Aosta region were still to go ahead.
Those races are operated by the International Ski Federation, which has already canceled races in China that were slated to test the course for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The Italian federation said that it is “in constant contact with the authorities” over the developing situation.
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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