Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora on Sunday called for the national football championship to be suspended due to the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic, which has killed 233 people in Italy.
"While we are asking citizens to make huge sacrifices to prevent the spread of contagion, it makes no sense to jeopardize the health of players, referees, managers and supporters, who will surely come together to watch the matches, "said Vincenzo Spadafora, in a message posted on his Facebook account.
Parma-Spal shifted
Italy, with more than 5,880 cases and 233 deaths, is with Iran and South Korea one of the countries most affected, apart from China. Following the minister's announcement, the kickoff of the first Serie A match of Sunday, pitting Parma against Spal, was postponed from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., the two clubs said on Twitter. The match was played behind closed doors in Parma.
A large portion of Italy including the Milan region was placed in quarantine on Sunday, a measure affecting more than 15 million Italians. All sports competitions, including football matches, must be held behind closed doors in Italy until April 3. Five games are scheduled for Sunday, the last one pitting Juventus Turin against Cristiano Ronaldo, second in the standings, against Inter Milan by Romelu Lukaku, third, in Piedmont.
Do not wait for the first case to act
"I share the statements of Damiano Tommasi, the president of the Italian football union, and I join his request," said Spadafora in his message. "Stopping football is the most useful thing for our country today," Tommasi said on Sunday earlier.
“Other Federations have wisely chosen to stop for the next few days. I believe that it is the duty of the president of the Gravina Federation to think a little more, without waiting for the first case of contamination [in football], "also said the Italian Minister of Sports.
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