The Coppa Italia semifinal second-leg match in Turin between Juventus and AC Milan scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, Serie A announced Tuesday.
The game had been scheduled to be played in a partially closed Allianz Stadium, with fans from the region of Lombardy banned from attending. However, Lega Serie A, who organises the Coppa, confirmed Tuesday that the game will now be played at an undetermined date.
Juventus drew the opening leg 1-1.
Ten Serie A matches throughout northern Italy have also been postponed over the past two weekends.
Nearly 80 people have died and more than 2,000 have been infected in Italy by the COVID-19 virus in Italy.
The other Coppa semifinal between Napoli and Inter Milan in Naples on Thursday is still set to be played as scheduled. Napoli won the first leg 1-0.
The decision to postpone Juve-Milan came hours after Spain’s health minister announced that Valencia’s home Champions League round-of-16 clash with Italian side Atalanta — who are located in Lombardy — would be played behind closed doors due to fears over the virus. And Inter Milan, who have seen each of their past two Serie A matches postponed due to the virus, will face Getafe in their Europa League round-of-32 second leg in Spain behind closed doors as well.
UEFA on Monday tried to dampen any panic about the impact, with president Aleksander Ceferin telling executive committee members there has been an overreaction regarding the virus.
“The UEFA president [Ceferin] immediately set the tone that the panic around all this may be worse than the virus itself,” Alexei Sorokin, a Russian member of the UEFA executive committee, said after a meeting in Amsterdam.
Coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, is a new strain of coronavirus that has surged around the globe. The coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more serious respiratory diseases. Flu is caused by a different virus. There is no vaccine for coronavirus, though researchers are working on one.
Older people, especially those with chronic illnesses such as heart or lung disease, are most at risk. The coronavirus spreads mainly through coughs and sneezes, though it also can be transferred from surfaces. The best way to prevent infection is by frequent hand-washing, cleaning surfaces with regular household sprays and wipes, and avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
