Rome (AFP)

The coronavirus epidemic continues to weigh heavily on Italian football and five new league matches scheduled for this weekend have been postponed to May 13, including the clash between Juventus and Inter Milan.

The duel between Juventus, leader, and Inter Milan (3rd) was scheduled Sunday evening and the League announced Thursday that it would be held behind closed doors in the face of the advance of the new coronavirus in the peninsula.

But a new twist came Saturday morning and the "Italian Derby" and four other matches, which were also to be played without an audience, were postponed until much later.

Besides Juventus-Inter, the matches concerned are AC Milan-Genoa, Parma-Spal, Sassuolo-Brescia, scheduled for Sunday, and Udinese-Fiorentina scheduled for this Saturday.

According to the League, this decision was taken "in view of the succession of numerous emergency regulatory measures taken by the government in response to this exceptional situation of protection of health and public safety".

Last weekend, four Serie A matches had already been postponed to a later date. Two have already been reprogrammed on March 11 (Hellas Verona-Cagliari and Torino-Parma). But two others - Atalanta Bergamo-Sassuolo and Inter Milan-Sampdoria Genoa - do not yet have a date.

The five postponed matches that were scheduled for this weekend have therefore been moved to May 13, the date on which the Italian Cup final was originally scheduled. This was postponed to May 20.

The Italian football calendar is therefore completely turned upside down by the coronavirus, which has now affected nearly 900 people and killed 21 people in Italy.

- blur on the Cup -

Spared by the postponements of matches, Lazio Rome could take the lead of the championship this Saturday during the 26th day, in the event of a draw or a victory against Bologna. The Romans are only one length away from Juventus, which will not be playing this weekend.

The most problematic case is undoubtedly that of Inter, which therefore finds itself with two league matches to catch up with.

The Milanese are also still involved in the Europa League, where they must face the Spanish from Getafe on March 12 (return match on March 19 in Spain). On Thursday, their 16th round of return against the Bulgarians from Ludogorets was played behind closed doors at the San Siro stadium.

Antonio Conte's team also faces Naples on Thursday in the semi-final return from the Italian Cup. The match will be held in Naples, in a region which is not currently affected by the measures to ban or limit the organization of sporting events.

On the other hand, a certain blur surrounds the other semi-final return of the Italian Cup between Juventus and AC Milan on Wednesday. It is to be held in Turin, where two matches were postponed, Torino-Parma last week and Juventus-Inter this weekend.

Football is not the only sport affected. On Wednesday, we learned of the postponement to an undetermined date of the match of the Six Nations Rugby Tournament between Ireland and Italy. It was to be held on March 7 in Dublin.

In the north of the country, where the regions most affected by the disease are located, Lombardy and Veneto in particular, all public sports competitions were initially banned until Sunday evening.

The government then authorized the organization of matches behind closed doors.

© 2020 AFP