Minister Calls for Serie A Games to Be Played Behind Closed Doors for 30 Days Due to Coronavirus

Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora has revealed that the government will 'likely' demand all Serie A matches be played behind closed doors in a bid to battle the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The virus has swept across Italy, particularly in the north, resulting in several top flight matches being either banned or played in empty stadia. Sporting events across the globe have been affected, but the outbreak in Italy has had the biggest impact on European football.

Rumours of a 30-day break from football were swirling as recently as ​Tuesday, but the words of Spadafora appear to be indicating that such speculation was wide of the mark.

"We are heading towards that [30-days without fan involvement] decision," Spadafora told reporters in Rome, via ​Sky Sports. “We will continue all activities, and so will the league, but we will respect public health.”

While the initial thoughts of having a month-long break from football activities entirely seemed to have been quelled, the recent updates still paint a bleak picture for the current ​Serie A season. Eight league clashes have already been postponed over the past two weeks - including potential title decider ​Juventus against ​Inter - as further fixtures are plunged into doubt.

It was ordered by the Italian FA to have both Coppa Italia semi-finals put on hold, with both due to take place the week commencing 2 March.

Furthermore, representatives from the 20 top flight sides were due to meet on Wednesday at the Italian Olympic Committee’s headquarters in Rome to discuss the plan of action for the coronavirus-hit games, but given the fears in the country, only members from eight sides attended.

Inter, Juventus, ​Milan, Roma, Sassuolo, Udinese, Lazio, Fiorentina and Atalanta all sent representatives, but in order for the assembly to legally take place, a further six club members needed to attend.

Outside of football, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte demanded that all schools and universities be closed until mid-March in a bid to counter the outbreak. Meanwhile, tragically, a reported 79 people - at the time of writing - have already lost their lives to the disease in the country.

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