The Covid-19 epidemic broke out in Italy: Calls to stop Serie A

The Italian Association of Players (AIC) has called for a cessation of football in the country amid the whole area of ​​Lombardy’s planned blockade in an effort to prevent the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Italian government had previously decided that all sports leagues would compete behind closed doors until March 4 to prevent the spread of the disease, of which 233 died and more by March 8, 5,000 Covid-19 infections in this country. Latest, new measures are expected to prepare for the quarantine of the Lombardy region, home to about 10 million people, as well as 11 provinces in four other regions.

Before the situation, Damiano Tommasi – the head of AIC, made a statement on Twitter with the content about the complicated development of the disease and issued an urgent call to stop football matches in the country. “Let us stop the tournament! Do we need anything else? Stop football!!”, stated on the AIC website that Tommasi also made earlier with the desire to ensure the safety of the players.

AIC President emphasized: “There are huge risks for the players and we must take all precautions for their safety: on the pitch, you definitely cannot be separated by a distance of one meter. However, all measures must be taken to ensure the safety of everyone at the stadium, including members and staff to minimize risks. There were those among the players who happily continued, others expressed their concerns. There are so many foreign players and obviously their family will be worried when watching what is happening in Italy”.

Earlier, the president of the Italian Football Association, Gabriele Gravina, said that Serie A suspension would not be ruled out if a player tested positive for Covid-19. Gravina told Rai Channel: “We have to be realistic, the risk really exists and in those cases we will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the athletes, and then consider its impact on the tournament”. When asked if the 2019-2020 season tournament could be cancelled, he said: “We cannot rule out anything, but we should not make hypotheses that we cannot predict”.

Serie A matches will take place on empty fields this weekend after a number of suspended matches in the last two rounds will be held, while round 27 (scheduled for this week) will be pushed back. Six matches postponed last weekend will be played on 8 and 9 of March behind closed doors, including a “great battle” between Juventus and Inter Milan in Turin.