- The head of the Italian government Giuseppe Conte has published a decree which places the country in a state of total containment (except for rare exceptions).
- This obviously concerns the entire sporting practice in Italy, including the football championship.
- This measure currently runs until April 3.
“ Tutti a casa ”, “all at home”, this is the new watchword in Italy to fight against the spread of the coronavirus which has already killed 463 people. Among the new measures adopted to fight the progression of the disease, the head of the Italian government Giuseppe Conte announced Monday evening that the championship, like all the sporting events, was suspended until April 3.
This Monday, the Sassuolo-Brescia match, counting for the 26th day of Serie A, was played as planned behind closed doors, and was won 3-0 by the local team. And it should be the last before early April. After his first goal, Sassuolo striker Francesco Caputo brandished a sheet of paper that read the message: "Everything will be fine. Stay at home. "
An entire country at a standstill
A few hours later, Giuseppe Conte used the same words to introduce the new decree, which entered into force at midnight. "I will sign a decree which can be summarized as follows: I am staying at home," he said at a press conference. Among the measures planned, such as the closure of schools and universities across the country, therefore also includes the suspension of sports competitions.
“There is no reason why games and sporting events should continue and I am thinking of the football championship. I am sorry but all Tifosi must take note of this, ”said Mr. Conte. However, the text provides for the possibility of organizing meetings under the authority of international bodies behind closed doors, which is the case for the Champions League and the Europa League, UEFA competitions.
In the Champions League, the Juventus-Lyon match is currently scheduled for Tuesday March 17 in Turin. In the Europa League, Inter Milan must welcome Getafe from Thursday and AS Rome is expected to receive Seville on Thursday 19 March. And before the press conference of the head of government on Monday, the Italian Olympic Committee, which has authority over all the sports federations in the country, had also asked for the suspension of "all sports activities at all levels" until April 3.
One stop, a thousand questions
On Monday, several Italian federations, such as that of swimming and that of winter sports, had announced autonomously the end of their competitive activities, which was already the case for rugby or volleyball, for example. In Serie A, the situation is therefore frozen, with Juventus at the head, one point before Lazio Rome and eight before Inter Milan, which played one game less.
But the questions remain numerous. In the short term, and pending the decisions of UEFA, arises that of the Champions League or Europa League matches scheduled in Italy in the coming weeks. In the longer term, it remains to be seen how and when the Serie A season can end. By April 3, three days of the championship will not be able to be disputed, while the calendar is particularly tight.
Neither the statutes of the federation nor those of the League provide for the case of a championship interrupted during the season and several Italian observers and media imagine a postponement or cancellation of Euro 2020 as the only possibility to complete Serie A.
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- Coronavirus
- Sport
- Serie A
- Soccer
- Italy