Football in Italy should be suspended and currently “makes no sense” for it to continue amid the increased risk of coronavirus, says the country’s sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora.
Last week, Italy’s government said all sport in the country would be played behind closed doors until 3 April.
But Spadafora supported calls from the president of Italy’s players’ union (AIC) for football to be suspended.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) is to hold a meeting on Tuesday.
On Sunday, up to 16 million people were placed in quarantine in Italy and the country has seen the largest number of coronavirus cases in Europe, with a reported 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.
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Spadafora said in a statement: “It does not make sense at this moment to endanger the health of footballers, referees, technicians and supporters who will surely gather to watch the matches, only to not temporarily suspend football and affect the interests that revolve around it.
“Other federations wisely opted for a stop for the next few days. I believe it is the duty of the president of the FIGC without waiting for the first case of [player] contagion.”
On Saturday, AIC president Damiano Tommasi initially called for a suspension of football saying there is “a risk for players” and “we must take all precautions”.
Parma’s Serie A match against SPAL kicked off 75 minutes late after Spadafora requested the league was suspended with immediate effect.
Four other Serie A matches are due to take place on Sunday, including Juventus against Inter Milan (19:45 GMT), while Sassuolo’s match against Brescia on Monday (17:30 GMT) is also due to go ahead.
In England, sports governing bodies and broadcasters have been called to a government meeting on Monday to discuss the staging of events behind closed doors if the coronavirus outbreak worsens.
