Top sports body of Italy asks all events to be cancelled untill April 3 due to COVID-19 outbreak

The statement read that the matches which fall under international competitions in case of both the clubs or the national teams are not under the jurisdiction of CONI

The National Olympic Committee (CONI) and the Italian team sports federation had a meeting and after that released a statement that the government should intensify its measures against the virus. Ther statement further read the health protection is going to be the top priority of everyone.

The statement also said that a unanimous agreement has been made to stop sporting activity at every level to be suspended till April 3. However, it stated that the matches which fall under international competitions in case of both the clubs or the national teams do not fall under the jurisdiction of CONI so they cannot be influenced.

Serie A must be played behind closed doors: Government

Coronavirus
Caption: WUHAN, Feb. 13, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Staff members work in a laboratory in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 13, 2020. As a designated service provider of nucleic acid detection of the novel coronavirus, KingMed Diagnostics laboratory in Wuhan conducts non-stop detection service and detects over 2,000 samples from various cities in Hubei Province every day. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi/IANS) Xinhua/IANS

This includes UEFA soccer tournaments such as the Champions League, in which Italy's Serie A leaders Juventus are set to host France's Lyon on March 17, and the Europa League, in which Inter Milan and AS Roma have home games scheduled against Spain's Getafe and Sevilla on March 12 and 19 respectively.

The government had already ordered that all sporting events, including Serie A matches, must be played behind closed doors to avoid crowds of people that could boost the contagion. The closed-doors games at the weekend caused chaos, with Italy's sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora calling Serie A organisers "irresponsible" after they ignored a late call from the players' union for the day's matches to be suspended, which saw Parma's clash with SPAL delayed by 75 minutes.

The previous two rounds of fixtures were heavily disrupted by the spread of the virus as several games were suspended. Cases of coronavirus in Italy have now risen to 7,375, with 366 deaths, the highest number outside of China.

(With agency inputs)

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