Italian official not happy Serie A soccer games played

ROME Italy’s Serie A league was criticized by the country’s sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora on Sunday for being “irresponsible” after ignoring his request to call off the day’s matches and suspend the competition over the coronavirus outbreak.

“Today, games have been played because of an irresponsible act of the Serie A league and its president Paolo Dal Pino,” Spadafora said.

“We are advising Italians to stay at home. The world of football feels immune to rules and sacrifices.”

The Italian government decreed on Thursday that sporting events could go ahead if they were played without fans, which Spadafora acknowledged.

However, after Italy ordered a virtual lockdown across much of its wealthy north on Sunday in a bid to contain the spread of the virus, Spadafora — backing a request from the players union (AIC) — asked the national football association (FIGC) to stop the matches immediately.

His request came shortly before Parma and SPAL were due to kickoff in the day ’s opening match behind closed doors.

Spadafora posted on his Facebook account that players, fans and referees should not be put at risk at a time when authorities were asking citizens to make “huge sacrifices” to battle the outbreak.

The players were then called back into the dressing room by the referee as they awaited a decision on whether the game would go ahead.

After a delay of 35 minutes, it was announced the match would start 75 minutes after the scheduled kickoff time.

The FIGC has called an emergency meeting for Tuesday.

Following the conclusion of the first game, which SPAL won 1-0, the AIC reiterated in a statement its belief that football must be stopped as soon as possible.