Juventus vs AC Milan: Coppa Italia clash postponed indefinitely amid Coronavirus fears

Both Coppa Italia semi-final second leg clashes have been postponed indefinitely due to the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy. 

The Civil Protection Agency confirmed 27 people had died of the virus within a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 79. It added that the majority of fatalities were over the age of 70. 

How has Coronavirus affected Italian football? Five things to know…

• Juventus and AC Milan were due to meet in the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg on Wednesday.
• But the Turin city council has now decided to postpone the game indefinitely.
• The decision comes as the number of people to die from Coronavirus in the country rises to 79.
• The other semi-final between Inter Milan and Napoli has also been postponed.
• Just four Serie A games took place over the weekend, while the entire top-flight schedule in neighbouring Switzerland has been suspended until March 23.

Juve and Milan had been due to play out the second leg of their semi-final tie on Wednesday, the scoreline level at 1-1 after February’s first-leg tie. But with sports events banned in three regions of Italy – Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna – plus two provinces, the decision has been taken to postpone the game.

“The game is postponed to a date to be announced,” said a statement on the official Juventus website.

The Piedmont region, where Turin is located, was exempt from the ban but prefect Claudio Palomba said the city council had decided to call off the match as it was impractical to determine which fans were local or from affected regions of Italy.

“It is not always possible to identify where people come from at the entrance to the stadium,” he said.

Schools in the Piedmont region have seen their suspension extended from March three until March 8.

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Napoli were due to host Inter Milan in the other Coppa Italia semi-final on Thursday but the decision has now been made to postpone that fixture, too, with no replacement yet announced.

Ten Serie A matches have been postponed due to the virus outbreak so far, with Italian football authorities coming under criticism for making late decisions and U-turns on whether or not games should go ahead.

There are now genuine fears over how to carry the season forward from here with just four Serie A matches taking place last weekend, while the entire Swiss top-flight has been suspended until March 23.