Juventus-Inter among 5 Serie A postponements due to coronavirus
Italian football has been hit by more postponements while the country deals with the worst outbreak of the coronavirus in Europe.
Last week, four Serie A matches were postponed due to the virus, and this weekend, Juventus' title clash with Inter Milan is among five games to be suspended.
The other postponed fixtures are AC Milan vs. Genoa, Parma vs. SPAL, Sassuolo vs. Brescia, and Udinese vs. Fiorentina. Those four matches and the Juventus-Inter meeting were previously set to be played behind closed doors.
It is yet to be decided whether Sampdoria's visit from Hellas Verona on Monday will go ahead, according to BBC Sport.
Lazio vs. Bologna, Napoli vs. Torino, Lecce vs. Atalanta, and Cagliari vs. Roma are still scheduled to be played this weekend. Fans are currently allowed to attend those fixtures.
Nearly 900 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Italy, according to The Guardian. The north of the country is the worst affected, with small towns in Lombardy and Veneto put into lockdown over the next two weeks while the government tries to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Cafes and schools have been shut throughout the country.
With an average attendance of 24,931 last season, Serie A football matches are understandably viewed as settings where there is considerable risk of worsening the rapid outbreak across Italy.
On Friday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino spoke of football's responsibility to help combat the coronavirus.
"The health of persons is much more important than any football game," he said at the annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board in Belfast, as quoted by The Guardian. "That's why we have to look at the situation and hope that it will decrease rather than increase. At the moment it looks like it is still increasing. If games have to be postponed or played without spectators until it is over, then we have to go through that."
Infantino hasn't ruled out the possibility of next month's slate of international fixtures being postponed. Italy's national team is scheduled to face England in London and Germany in Nuremberg on March 27 and March 31, respectively.