Italian sports in quarantine as number of victims rises
ROME: The surge in the number of new coronavirus cases in Italy hit sporting events on Sunday, notably top flight football with four Serie A matches postponed.
The match between Torino and Parma in the northern city of Turin was called off following earlier postponements of games between title-chasing Inter and Sampdoria, Atalanta and Sassuolo, and Hellas Verona and Cagliari.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that all sporting events in two northern regions would be suspended on Sunday, with the number of confirmed cases doubling during the day from 79 to 152 in an outbreak that has claimed three lives in the country.
“Now more than ever we have a duty to be prudent and responsible,” Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said.
“It is necessary to act seriously and determinedly, while maintaining calm and not taking any unnecessary risks.
“For this reason, we have suspended sports competitions in areas where there may be even the possibility of spreading the virus.”
AC Milan also announced on Sunday the postponement of their women’s team’s match against Fiorentina, while five Serie C games programmed for next Wednesday have been postponed.
Juventus confirmed that the museum within their Allianz Stadium would remain closed until Feb 29.
Other sports were also hit with the Italian Olympic Committee confirming that in line with government instructions, all events in the Lombardy and Veneto regions would be postponed.
These two regions in the north of the country are those where the majority of new infections have been identified.
In tennis, the final of the Bergamo Challenger event was cancelled with Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko and Enzo Couacaud of France splitting honours, with both receiving finalist points and prize money for the week, organisers confirmed.
The women’s Six Nations rugby clash between Italy and Scotland, scheduled to take place in Legnano, north of Milan, was been postponed to a later date. K-LEAGUE POSTPONED South Korea’s K-league yesterday postponed the start of the new football season as the country announced a leap in novel coronavirus cases.
The K-league, one of the strongest in Asia, was scheduled to start this weekend.
South Korea is the hardest-hit nation outside China by the epidemic, with more than 800 cases and seven deaths.
“The K-league has decided to temporarily postpone the start of the 2020 K-league season until the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak eases,” the football body said.