There’s no end in sight for Italian soccer’s fixture hassle, with Juventus’s meeting with AC Milan having already been called off this week.
Inter’s Coppa Italia semi-final second leg in Napoli is now the latest fixture to be postponed as a consequence of the coronavirus crisis engulfing Italian soccer.
Juventus’ Coppa tie at Milan, which was originally due to take place on Wednesday, has been called off and the fixture between Napoli and Inter scheduled for Thursday in Stadio San Paolo will also not be occurring.
Italian soccer is enduring chaos with its program because of the danger of the spread of coronavirus, of which there have been over 2000 confirmed positive cases in the country.
Several Serie A fixtures have been postponed over the previous two weekends, such as the Derby d’Italia between Juve and Inter, which was expected to take place last Sunday.
ANSA reported that the government will implement measures to cancel all sporting events for 30 days, although soccer matches may yet be permitted to occur behind closed doors.
Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta, talking before a Serie A council meeting on Wednesday, insisted that the club will accept whatever steps are implemented in the coming days and weeks, saying:”We shall adapt to what they pick.”
Inter lost the first leg of their Italian Cup clash 1-0 in San Siro, with Fabian Ruiz scoring the winner for Napoli.
Antonio Conte’s side will now look ahead to a meeting with Sassuolo in the MAPEI Stadium on Sunday, but it’s not yet clear if the fixture will proceed as planned.
The same is true for Napoli as they prepare for a visit to Verona this weekend, with more disruptions to the Serie A calendar anticipated.
The Italian top flight isn’t the only league to have experienced problems as a result of coronavirus, with the whole Swiss Super League being suspended indefinitely until March 23.
In Germany, Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig have been forced to apologise for ejecting 20 fans in their arena during a 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday over fears they had been carrying the virus.
The Premier League are reportedly now thinking up a contingency plan to take care of the outbreak should it impact English football, with games likely to be played behind closed doors, and doubts have been raised over whether Euro 2020 will go ahead this summer.
