16:57

Italy’s premier football league, Serie A, could be forced to suspend mid-season if a player tests positive for coronavirus, the Italian football federation (FIGC) said on Saturday.

“We must be realistic,’’ Gabriele Gravina, president of the FIGC, said in an interview with Italian broadcaster Rai, “We need to take measures to protect athletes, and we cannot exclude the possibility to suspend the competition if a player tested positive.’’

On Wednesday, Italy ordered that all sporting events should be played behind closed doors until 3 April due to the outbreak.



The ”derby of Italy” between Inter Milan and Juventus football clubs is set to be played on Sunday, while the Rome marathon, due to take place on 29 March, has been cancelled due to the outbreak.

“This is the message that we would never have wished to write but sadly, as a consequence of the ongoing health emergency and according to what is laid down in the cabinet decree of March 4, 2020, the Marathon on March 29 has been cancelled,” said organisers.

Italy is the European country most affected by the coronavirus with 3,916 infected and 197 dead.