Serie A surprised fans in February when it began postponing matches because of COVID-19. Postponement soon became protocol. The Match Day 25 fixture between Inter Milan and Sampdoria was the first of a long list of postponed matches to come. Two weeks later, Italy’s Prime Minister announced all sports in the country would be postponed.
Breaking: All sports in Italy have been halted because of the coronavirus outbreak, Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed in a television address on Monday. pic.twitter.com/eLp4YRIeTT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 9, 2020
With all sports postponed, when will Serie A resume? Head of Italy’s Football Federation Gabriele Gravina said he hopes Serie A will resume on May 2, with the season finishing in July, per Reuters.
"We're working on the hypothesis of starting again on May 2"
Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina has a potential return date for Serie AHere: https://t.co/hviw6yPrlr
@AFPphoto pic.twitter.com/6H1Rzsh0u3
— AFP Sport (@AFP_Sport) March 18, 2020
Several clubs, including Champions League participant Napoli and second-placed Lazio, are ignoring warnings from senior Italian officials and plan to return to training next week despite the ban on sports and the growing crisis.
Napoli, Lazio and Cagliari plan to return to training next week despite warnings from the players' unionhttps://t.co/vOUY7ZJfB7
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) March 21, 2020
The postponement on sports in Italy ends on April 3, but the league is unlikely to resume on this date as Italy has become the new epicenter for the virus. Italy recently passed China for the highest death toll and the rate hasn’t slowed.
Italy reports another 793 deaths in past day in world's worst coronavirus crisis https://t.co/htvSVse4Ho
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 21, 2020
Another factor halting Serie A from resuming is players testing positive for COVID-19. League-leader Juventus has had three players test positive. Defender Daniele Rugani was one of the first professional footballers to test positive for the virus. Rugani’s teammate Blaise Matuidi has also tested positive and is in isolation. The most recent is Argentine forward Paulo Dybala.
COVID-19, third player to test positive.
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) March 21, 2020
Hola a todos, quería comunicarles que acabamos de recibir los resultados del test del Covid-19 y tanto Oriana como yo dimos positivo. Por fortuna nos encontramos en perfecto estado. Gracias por sus mensajes y un saludo a todos pic.twitter.com/g1X1Qtx2S3
— Paulo Dybala (@PauDybala_JR) March 21, 2020
Before the postponement of the league, Serie A was becoming a two-horse race between defending champion Juventus and challenger Lazio, with only one point separating the two. Inter Milan was eight points behind Lazio with one less game played.
Safety of the people is the top priority, but hopefully Serie A will one day get the conclusion it deserves.
