Five Serie A games including Juventus vs Inter Milan to be played behind closed doors due to coronavirus outbreak in Italy

Five Serie A matches will be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, it was announced on Thursday.

Juventus' top-of-the-table title clash against Inter Milan on Sunday is set to take place in an empty stadium along with four other league games as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in parts of northern Italy.

#JuveInter a porte chiuse. Lo ha comunicato la Lega Serie A pochi minuti fa➡️ https://t.co/UPCtz85Ena pic.twitter.com/wutII1L6Kp

— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) February 27, 2020

The match between Inter's city rivals A.C Milan and Genoa is also affected as the outbreak area lies mainly in Milan. A few matches were also postponed last weekend including the match between Inter and Sampdoria.

Other matches set to be played behind closed doors this weekend are Udinese vs Fiorentina, Parma vs SPAL and Sassuolo vs Brescia.

Serie A president Paolo Dal Pinto is believed to have suggested that games should no longer be postponed but instead played behind closed doors to reduce the chances of the virus spreading among fans.

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Antonio Conte not too keen on playing in an empty stadium

Antonio Conte

Meanwhile, Antonio Conte is set to return to the Allianz Stadium as an opposition manager for the first time since he left Juventus in 2014. The Italian tactician also stated his views regarding the outbreak in a press conference recently:

“It's not nice, because in the end football needs the public and to feel the atmosphere around it. The atmosphere is the most beautiful thing. Having said that, we defer to the decisions made by the health authorities. I hope that everything will return to normal as soon as possible.”

Inter Milan are six points behind leaders Juventus in the current Serie A season. However, they have a game in hand and Conte will look to close the gap this Sunday.

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