A threatened strike from Serie A players could prompt Italian football to be suspended as the coronavirus continues to cause confusion in Northern Italy.
The action is going ahead as planned this weekend despite uncertainty ahead of Parma-SPAL in the early kickoff, but the games scheduled for next week might not be played.
La Gazzetta dello Sport have reported that another emergency meeting has been called for Tuesday in order for a decision to be reached.
The Italian Players’ Association are unhappy that players’ health is being risked by having games played, and the country’s sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora is also in favour of bringing things to a halt.
“I share the views of Damiano Tommasi [president of the Italian Players’ Association] and I unite with his call to suspend the football league,” Spadafora said on Sunday morning, which led to Parma-SPAL being delayed by 75 minutes.
Both sets of players were in the tunnel and ready to enter the pitch, having completed their warmups and with substitutes already in place on the benches.
But one minute before the scheduled 12:30 kickoff, they were ordered back to their respective dressing rooms.
“Other federations have wisely opted to stop for the next few days,” the minister continued.
“It makes no sense right now. As we’re asking for huge sacrifices of our citizens to prevent the spread of the virus, to put the health of players, referees, coaches and fans who will get together to watch the games.”
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com