AS Roma have confirmed they will not travel to Sevilla for their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 first leg game.
[ MORE: Premier League schedule ]
The Italian side released a statement saying the plane they were flying on from Italy to the Spanish city of Seville was not allowed to land in Spain and they have no way of getting to the game.
“Roma will not travel to Spain for the Europa League match against Sevilla after the plane from Italy was not authorized to land in Spain. More details from UEFA soon.”
This incident will also surely mean that UEFA will postpone any games involving Italian clubs in European competitions as Inter Milan host Spanish side Getafe on Thursday and Getafe’s president has already refused to take his team to Milan.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have issued a statement criticizing UEFA after they wanted their game at Olympiacos to be postponed due to Olympiacos’ owner Evangelos Marinakis being diagnosed with coronavirus. Olympiacos have since confirmed all of their staff and players have been tested and their tests have come back as negative.
Coronavirus fears have also caused the postponement of Man City v. Arsenal, and the sequestering of several Arsenal players due to coming in close contact with Marinakis 13 days ago after a Europe League game against Olympiacos.
More coronavirus connections to soccer:
- Serie A is considering alternative ways to conclude its scudetto and relegation races, including playoffs or the non-awarding of a champion.
- Chelsea will visit Bayern Munich at an empty Allianz Arena for a Champions League second leg next week.
- Manchester United’s Europa League game at LASK in Austria will be played behind-closed-doors, and matches in Spain’s La Liga will be played in empty stadiums until early April.
- The San Jose Earthquakes’ next home match, March 21, is 11 days away and the Santa Clara Public Health Department has banned all gatherings over 1000 people.
