Inter trip to Juventus amongst Serie A fixtures hit by coronavirus
For the second weekend in succession, Serie A have announced the postponement of several matches due to the threat of the coronavirus.
In total, five matches have been called off with Inter Milan’s encounter with Juventus in Sunday’s Derby d’Italia the highest profile of those games.
Originally the fixture was due to take place behind closed doors at the Allianz Stadium but the decision has now been taken to postpone the encounter, rearranging the potential title-decider for Wednesday, May 13.
The decision to rearrange the league fixtures means the Coppa Italia final will now take place on Wednesday, May 20.
The other matches that have been affected by the efforts to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus are Udinese v Fiorentina, AC Milan v Genoa, Parma v Spal and Sassuolo v Brescia.
The updated schedule of Matchday 26. 👇 ⚽ #SerieATIM #WeAreCalcio pic.twitter.com/KoSgM1rmgK
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) February 29, 2020
Serie A officials have still to make a decision on Monday’s game between Sampdoria and Hellas Verona, while the games between Lazio v Bologna, Napoli v Torino, Lecce v Atalanta and Cagliari v Roma will be played with fans in attendance.
Confirming the decision to call off their game, Juventus stated the measure had been taken “in compliance with the urgent measures for the containment and management of the epidemiological emergency of COVID-19”.
It is the second week in a row in which Serie A have been forced to postpone matches with Inter amongst those affected last weekend when their home game with Sampdoria was called off.
Antonio Conte’s side did play in midweek, beating Ludogorets at the San Siro in the Europa League last-32, but that fixture took place behind closed doors.
Italy are battling to contain an outbreak of the deadly virus, putting several towns in the north of the country into lockdown.
300 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus, 12 of whom have died.
