Italian soccer resists government pressure to stop amid coronavirus crisis

Serie A plans to stage each of its six matches on Sunday and Monday despite growing governmental and public pressure to suspend the league as a preventative measure against the coronavirus.

Over a quarter of Italy's population is quarantined after more than 5,800 people in the country have tested positive for COVID-19, according to The Guardian's Helen Davidson, Lorenzo Tondo, Verna Yu, and agencies. The area in lockdown affects a total of 16 million people, including Lombardy, a bustling financial region with a population that exceeds 10 million. Schools throughout the nation are closed.

Italian soccer, however, seems to have absolved itself from such sacrifices, with Lombardy-based AC Milan among the home teams featured in the weekend's slate of matches. Sunday's earlier meeting between Parma and SPAL was initially suspended moments before its kickoff time. The uniformed players were then told the game would actually commence 75 minutes later than planned at 8:45 a.m. ET.

Serie A matches had an average attendance of 24,931 last season, so these contests pose a considerable risk of worsening the rapid outbreak across Italy. There was an alarming increase of 1,200 confirmed coronavirus cases over a 24-hour period this weekend, and the nation's death toll currently stands at 233.

"I share the views of Damiano Tommasi, president of the Italian Players' Association, and I unite with his call to suspend the football league," Italy's sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora said Sunday, according to The Independent's Jack Rathborn.

"It makes no sense at this moment, while we ask our citizens for enormous sacrifices to prevent the spread of the contagion, to risk the health of players, referees, coaches, fans who will certainly gather to see games, just to protect the interests that revolve around the sport."