The Coppa Italia semifinal second leg between Juventus and AC Milan has been postponed. The coronavirus has been wreaking havoc all across the globe. Other than China, Italy has incurred the most deaths at 79 due to the rapidly spreading virus.
Per Football Italia, the original plan was to have a scheduled match behind closed doors. The decision was reversed and allowed fans to be present during the match. The only fans to be banned were those specifically from Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, where the virus is most present. However, on Sunday the decision was made to play the match behind closed doors. Then Tuesday, 24 hours before game time, the decision was made to postpone the match due to the gravity of the situation. The constant flip-flopping has left the country in a state of flux.
The Milan bus carrying the players had already arrived in Turin when they received news the game was to be postponed. They waited around for a couple of hours and then turned back home. It's unfortunate and highly inconvenient, especially for the away side traveling all the way there for nothing.
There are already reports of coronavirus cases rising to 2,263, with surely more to come. Shortly afterward, the Turin Prefect confirmed 40,000 tickets were already sold for the game. It would have been nearly impossible to determine where people were traveling from to contain the spreading to protect the crowd.
The decision to postpone the game was apparently not made by the league itself, but by the Italian government. Schools have been suspended as well until March 8, being extended an extra five days from the originally planned March 3 resumption.
To make things even worse, the government is considering suspending all sports for a month.
If this were to materialize, one wonders if and how the league and the Coppa Italia tournament will conclude successfully with a champion.
Worse yet, if the virus were to spread not just through Italy, but throughout all of Europe, will Euros 2020 be canceled? Would the players be fit to play?
Italy's first three games are to be played in Rome. It would be a lonely, sad site to see an empty Stadio Olimpico for the opening match of a tournament that occurs only once every four years.
