As A Result Of The COVID-19 Outbreak, Italy's PSSI Wants Euro 2020 To Be Postponed
JAKARTA - The president of the Italian football federation, Gabriele Gravina, will ask for Euro 2020 to be postponed. This will be conveyed in a meeting with fellow UEFA members on Tuesday, March 16 tomorrow.
Europe's biggest leagues and competitions, including the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, have been postponed as governments and medical experts seek to combat the COVID-19 or coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, UEFA will hold a video conference with delegates from its 55 member countries to discuss how and when football will be able to resume.
One option that has been debated is to postpone Euro 2020, either until the end of this year or until 2021, to allow the domestic season to be finalized. Italy has been the worst-hit country in Europe with Spaghetti's Country closed until at least April 3. FIGC boss Gravina then confirmed that he wanted Euro 2020 to be postponed.
We'll hug each other again. Everything is gonna be allright. pic.twitter.com/BShGDX1qjj
- Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) March 14, 2020
"We will try to reach the end of this [Serie A] season, because having the result of the many efforts and sacrifices of our clubs is something that is fair and right," Gravina told Mediaset, Sunday, March 15.
"The hope is that this happens on 30 June, without forgetting that apart from Serie A there are other championships to be finished, and we also have to enter the Champions League and Europa League. The deadline is June 30, finally we will see if we have to go further. . "
Regarding European competition, Gravina said: "On Tuesday we will tackle this problem; the main principle is health protection. Italy is currently two weeks from now, other (countries) may not know the exact size of things.
"We will ask UEFA to postpone European Championship matches."
Juventus currently lead by one point in Serie A, with Lazio in second place, and both have 12 Serie A games remaining. Inter Milan are nine points adrift of the leaders in third place, with one game to spare.
Meanwhile, Italy head coach Roberto Mancini said his country could win the European Championship even though the final was rescheduled for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Azzurri's friendlies against England and Germany this month have been canceled, but Mancini says football is not his top priority at the moment.
"I don't know how it will end. But there are more important things than Euro 2020, without a doubt," Mancini told Rai Sport.
#Azzurri 🇮🇹The #DFB 🇩🇪 announces the cancellation of the friendly match between #Germany and #Italy in # Nuremberg👉 https://t.co/nlD8FMmUoTFollowing the city's ban on events of more than 100 people, the game will no longer go ahead # VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/OIZjRN7n1d
- Italy (@azzurri) March 14, 2020
"If they postpone the tournament, we can win even in a year. What's important is everyone's health and we can all go back to the stadium and enjoy ourselves.
"Seeing people die in the last few days has really hurt us."
Italy won all 10 of their European Championship qualifying matches, which culminated in a 9-1 win over Armenia in November.
Mancini said he already had a squad that would be taken to the Euros but indicated he was ready to reassess his plans if the tournament was postponed.
"I have a fairly safe list of players called up," he said. "It was ready with only a few doubts to decide at the last minute. However, if the tournament is suspended for a year, there will be some changes.
"We will have to wait until Tuesday to understand whether UEFA will decide to postpone Euro 2020. The problems we had in Italy in the last 15 days will now be seen in other countries."