Coronavirus: Parma v SPAL kicks off 75 minutes late amid calls for Serie A suspension

The match is taking place behind closed doors

Parma's Serie A tie against SPAL kicked off 75 minutes late after Italy's sports minister requested the league was suspended with immediate effect because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The match was due to kick off at 12:30 local time (11:30 GMT) but players were told to return to the dressing room from the tunnel.

It eventually got under way at 13:45 local time (12:45 GMT).

On Sunday, up to 16m people were placed in quarantine in Italy.

Italy has seen the largest number of coronavirus cases in Europe and reported a steep rise in infections on Saturday.

The death toll in Italy has passed 230, with officials reporting more than 36 deaths in 24 hours. The number of confirmed cases jumped by more than 1,200 to 5,883 on Saturday.

Last week, Italy's government said all sport in the country would be played behind closed doors until 3 April.

On Saturday Damiano Tommasi, the president of Italy's players' union (AIC), called for football to be suspended in the country.

In a statement, he said: "There is a risk for players and we must take all precautions for the security of those who play: on the pitch you certainly can't stay at a distance of one metre away.

"But every measure must be taken to guarantee the safety of everyone at the stadium, including staff and personnel, to reduce the risks.

"There are those among the players who are happy to continue, others who express their concerns.

"There are many foreign players too and it's obvious their families will be worried watching what's happening in Italy."

Four other Serie A matches are due to take place on Sunday, including Juventus versus Inter Milan (19:45 GMT), while Sassuolo's match against Brescia on Monday (17:30 GMT) is also due to go ahead.

Coronavirus - sport timeline

Line-ups Match Stats Live Text

Line-ups

Parma

34Colombi

36Darmian

2Iacoponi

22Bruno Alves

28Gagliolo

8Grassi

15Brugman

19Kurtic

44Kulusevski

11Cornelius

27Kouassi

Substitutes

3Dermaku

5Regini

7Karamoh

20Caprari

26Siligardi

40Corvi

92Radu

93Sprocati

97Pezzella

SPAL

99Berisha

4Cionek

23Vicari

41Bonifazi

13RecaSubstituted forDias da Silva Dal Beloat 34'minutesBooked at 39mins

6Valdifiori

7Missiroli

11Murgia

8Valoti

93Fares

37Petagna

Substitutes

10Floccari

19Castro

22Thiam

25Letica

26Sala

27Dias da Silva Dal Belo

32Cerri

40Tomovic

77D'Alessandro

87Zukanovic

96Tunjov

Referee:

Luca Pairetto

Match Stats

Home TeamParmaAway TeamSPAL

Possession

Home50%

Away50%

Shots

Home5

Away4

Shots on Target

Home0

Away1

Corners

Home2

Away2

Fouls

Home6

Away11

Live Text

Half TimePosted at 45'+3'

First Half ends, Parma 0, SPAL 0.

Posted at 45'+2'

Foul by Andrea Petagna (SPAL).

Posted at 45'+2'

Bruno Alves (Parma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 45'+1'

Hand ball by Andreas Cornelius (Parma).

Posted at 42'

Hand ball by Andrea Petagna (SPAL).

Posted at 41'

Attempt missed. Mattia Valoti (SPAL) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Mirko Valdifiori.

Posted at 41'

Mohamed Fares (SPAL) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 41'

Foul by Matteo Darmian (Parma).

Posted at 40'

Attempt blocked. Gervinho (Parma) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Dejan Kulusevski.

Posted at 40'

Attempt blocked. Gervinho (Parma) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

BookingPosted at 39'

Felipe (SPAL) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Posted at 39'

Foul by Felipe (SPAL).

Posted at 39'

Dejan Kulusevski (Parma) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Posted at 38'

Attempt missed. Simone Iacoponi (Parma) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Jasmin Kurtic with a cross following a corner.

Posted at 37'

Corner, Parma. Conceded by Kevin Bonifazi.

Posted at 36'

Foul by Andrea Petagna (SPAL).

Posted at 36'

Simone Iacoponi (Parma) wins a free kick on the right wing.

SubstitutionPosted at 34'

Substitution, SPAL. Felipe replaces Arkadiusz Reca.

Posted at 31'

Foul by Mattia Valoti (SPAL).

Posted at 31'

Matteo Darmian (Parma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 30'

Foul by Arkadiusz Reca (SPAL).

Posted at 30'

Simone Iacoponi (Parma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 29'

Attempt saved. Mohamed Fares (SPAL) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Thiago Cionek with a cross.

Posted at 25'

Foul by Mohamed Fares (SPAL).

Posted at 25'

Dejan Kulusevski (Parma) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Posted at 23'

Foul by Mattia Valoti (SPAL).

Posted at 23'

Jasmin Kurtic (Parma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 22'

Corner, SPAL. Conceded by Gastón Brugman.

Posted at 22'

Attempt blocked. Francesco Vicari (SPAL) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Arkadiusz Reca.

Posted at 21'

Corner, SPAL. Conceded by Riccardo Gagliolo.

Posted at 19'

Attempt missed. Andreas Cornelius (Parma) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Gastón Brugman.

Posted at 18'

Attempt missed. Riccardo Gagliolo (Parma) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jasmin Kurtic.

Posted at 16'

Thiago Cionek (SPAL) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 16'

Foul by Andreas Cornelius (Parma).

Posted at 15'

Foul by Thiago Cionek (SPAL).

Posted at 15'

Jasmin Kurtic (Parma) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 10'

Mohamed Fares (SPAL) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 10'

Foul by Matteo Darmian (Parma).

Posted at 9'

Foul by Mattia Valoti (SPAL).

Posted at 9'

Gastón Brugman (Parma) wins a free kick on the right wing.

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Source: bbc.com