Sevilla-Roma, Inter-Getafe the latest matches to be postponed due to coronavirus


Two more high-profile matches have been postponed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

UEFA announced on Wednesday that the clash between Sevilla and Roma as well as the match between Inter and Getafe will not take place as scheduled.

The two Europa League matches were set to be played on Thursday, but UEFA have confirmed that the two matches will not go on as planned.

“As a result of the travelling restrictions between Spain and Italy imposed yesterday by the Spanish authorities, the following UEFA Europa League Round of 16 matches will not take place as scheduled tomorrow, 12 March 2020,” a UEFA statement read.

It added: “Further decisions on the two matches will be communicated in due course.”

The decision comes after Roma were unable to fly to Seville for their Europa League tie after their plane was denied authorisation to land in Spain due to measures being put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Roma had released an official statement on social media confirming the news, which reads: “AS Roma will not go to Spain for the Europa League match against Sevilla due to lack of authorization from local authorities. More details will be announced by UEFA.”

Italy is currently in lockdown over the coronavirus outbreak, with significant travel restrictions in place across the country.

There have been over 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Italy, where 631 people have died.

Spain is also one of the worst-affected countries in Europe as there have been over 2,000 confirmed cases and 47 deaths to date.

Several airlines have already stopped flying to Italy during the outbreak, with more disruptions expected in the coming weeks.

Major sporting events across the world continue to be badly affected by the crisis, with Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 either postponing games or playing them behind closed doors.

A UEFA Youth League fixture between Juventus and Real Madrid was the latest in a long line of games to be called off on Wednesday, which came two days after Inter prevented their Primavera side from travelling to France to face Rennes.

Elsewhere in the Europa League, Wolves have seen a request to postpone their last-16 tie against Olympiacos in Greece rejected by UEFA, and Manchester United are scheduled to face LASK at Raiffeisen Arena in Austria behind closed doors.

Supporters have also been banned from attending over half of the Champions League’s first knockout stage second-leg fixtures, with Paris Saint-Germain set to take on Borussia Dortmund at an empty Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.



source

Recommended For You

About the Author: soccernews

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *