Italy vs England in Six Nations to be played behind closed doors due to coronavirus concerns
Written by News on 04/03/2020
Italy’s Six Nations match against England on March 14 is set to be played behind closed doors as the Italian government say supporters will not be able to attend any sporting events until April 3, due to coronavirus concerns.
The announcement comes just 10 days before the match is due to be played and means, as it stands, the only game postponed at this year’s Six Nations is the match between Ireland and Italy in Dublin, which was meant to take place this weekend.
England were also set to play in Italy in the women’s Six Nations on Sunday March 15.
Italy sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora had earlier said on Wednesday he wanted sport to go on.
The decision will also affect two Pro 14 matches, 32 Serie A football matches, and Juventus’ Champions League last-16 second leg with Lyon which is scheduled for March 17 in Turin.
Serie A impact
Serie A is likely to resume in full this weekend after just four matches took place last weekend with fans present as they were taking place in areas that had not been affected by measures to control the outbreak.
Representatives from the 20 Serie A clubs met on Wednesday at the Italian Olympic Committee’s headquarters at the Foro Italico in Rome to debate on the plan of action for all top-flight games affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
However, only eight clubs – Inter, Juventus, Milan, Roma, Sassuolo, Udinese, Lazio, Fiorentina and Atalanta – sent club representatives to the assembly, six clubs short of the minimum number of representatives legally required for the assembly to take place, meaning they would have to abide by the government’s decision.
Inter Milan CEO Giuseppe Marotta was in favour of playing matches behind closed doors as it would preserve the regular course of the season.
“It’s a very tough moment, our goal is to carry out the season with the maximum uniformity, without creating any imbalance,” Marotta told Sky in Italy reporters hours before the decision was made.
“We’re going through days of big changes. To play behind closed doors could be the only tool to finish the season in light of the restrictions that the government is rightly pointing out to us.”
Davis Cup impact
In tennis, Italy is set to play South Korea in a Davis Cup qualifier this weekend in Cagliari, Sardinia.
World No 11 Fabio Fognini is expected to lead his country in the ‘World Cup of Tennis’ at the Circolo Tennis Cagliari.
There are more than 3,000 coronavirus cases in Italy and more than 100 deaths.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte decided on Wednesday to close all schools and universities until mid-March.
A decree on Sunday extended the suspension of all sporting events in Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna until March 8.
The region of Lombardy is the epicentre of Italy’s outbreak and there are further clusters in the other two northern regions.
(c) Sky Sports 2020: Italy vs England in Six Nations to be played behind closed doors due to coronavirus concerns
