Italy Women vs Scotland Women Six Nations clash called off due to coronavirus outbreak in Milan area
The Six Nations match between Italy Women and Scotland Women has been postponed due to the growing number of cases of coronavirus in the Milan area.
The decision follows Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s move to postpone all sporting events in the Lombardy and Veneto regions due to the outbreak of the deadly virus.
As a result, the Six Nations encounter scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Legnano has been cancelled, with organisers looking for a new date to stage the match in the near future.
As well as the rugby union match, four Serie A games have been called off, including Inter Milan vs Sampdoria, with the widespread disruption to sporting events in Asia now starting to have a similar impact in Europe.
A Six Nations statement read: “Further to an increased number of Covid-19 cases in the Milan area, the Italian authorities have decided to cancel all sporting events in the Veneto and Lombardi Regions.
“As a result of this decision, the Women’s Six Nations match between Italy and Scotland scheduled to be played today will not take place.
“Six Nations Rugby are looking at options with the FIR and Scottish Rugby to reschedule this fixture at a later date.
“We will be staying in contact with the FIR and Italian authorities to keep updated on the situation in the region.”
The two other fixtures on Sunday will go ahead as planned, with Wales taking on France at the Cardiff Arms Park and England facing Ireland at Castle Park in Doncaster.
Atalanta vs Sassuolo and Verona vs Cagliari were also postponed in the Italian football top flight, with Torino’s clash with Parma on Sunday also falling by the wayside.
A Serie B match featuring Ascoli and Cremonese was called off on Saturday around one hour before the scheduled kickoff because of fears over the coronavirus.
Italy has seen two deaths from conoravirus and has more confirmed cases of the disease than any other European country.
There are officially 79 people in the country who have been diagnosed with the virus, with 64 of those from the Lombardy and Veneto regions.
The two affected regions have shut down entire areas with schools and offices in lockdown due to the rapid spread.
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