Coronavirus outbreak causes panic in South Korea and Italy soccer matches

Posted on February 25, 2020 by SoccerPunter

Football authorities in South Korea have indefinitely postponed the start of the season for K-League 2020 due to fears over the coronavirus outbreak.

The number of reported cases in South Korea reached 833 on Monday, including seven deaths. China has reported 2,592 deaths among 77,150 cases. Other affected countries include Japan and Singapore.

The Chinese Super League was scheduled to kick off last weekend but has been delayed as well.

In Europe, Italy Serie A president Paolo Dal Pinto sent a letter to the government on Monday appealing that soccer matches no longer be postponed in the affected areas but played without fans in attendance.

Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora also proposed the closed-door plan to Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte.

There isn’t much time to reschedule the match fixtures considering all elite soccer competitions must be completed by May 24 because of the upcoming European Championship.