Football
ESPN 4y

Serie A call off five games including Juventus vs. Inter Milan

Serie A have called off five fixtures this weekend, including Juventus vs. Inter Milan, because of fears over coronavirus.

The other games are Udinese vs. Fiorentina, Milan vs. Genoa, Parma vs. SPAL and Sassuolo vs. Brescia.

A number of sporting events in the north of the country have been cancelled over the past two weeks due to the virus having affected numerous victims, with 12 fatalities at the time of writing.

- Marcotti: How Italy is impacted by coronavirus
- Watch Serie A matches on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Originally, the top-of-the-table clash between Juve and Inter was scheduled for Sunday to be played behind closed doors, but it has now been cancelled altogether with the fixture provisionally rearranged for May 13.

Juventus confirmed the news on Twitter, saying the measure had been taken "in compliance with the "Urgent measures for the containment and management of the epidemiological emergency of COVID-19."

Serie A said in a statement that the decision was made "considering the succession of numerous urgent regulatory interventions by the Government to respond to this extraordinary emergency to protect public health and safety."

Four matches were cancelled last weekend, including Inter Milan's home game against Sampdoria.

Lazio vs. Bologna went ahead as scheduled on Saturday while Napoli vs. Torino is also due to take place. 

Lazio went top of Serie A with a 2-0 win. Luis Alberto fired Lazio in front with a low shot from the edge of the area in the 18th minute and set up the second for Joaquin Correa three minutes later as the hosts extended their unbeaten Serie A run to 21 games.

Bologna had two goals disallowed in the second half, one for handball and then one for offside following a VAR review.

Meanwhile, Italian third division club US Pianese confirmed two more players and one club official have tested positive for coronavirus.

The club had announced on Thursday that one of its players, a 22-year-old, had tested positive for coronavirus, the first diagnosed case of a footballer in Europe, and that he was being treated in a hospital in Siena.

"At the moment those infected are four, three players and a team official," the club said in a statement.

"Currently all the [other] players, the technical staff and the managers present during the trip last weekend are in a 15-day quarantine in their respective homes and are not showing any of the regular symptoms of the Covid-19."

ESPN's Spanish correspondent Adriana Garcia contributed to this report. 

^ Back to Top ^