Serie A, soccer clubs clash in Italy amid coronavirus chaos

Amid a global health crisis Italian soccer teams and Serie A's governing body are squabbling with each other about when to play games, with Inter Milan chief executive Giuseppe Marotta saying the season even runs the risk of being unable to finish.

Five games scheduled in the top tier of the Italian league this weekend were postponed on Saturday in an attempt to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

"The decision was down to me, but the clubs involved were contacted by telephone, so we know everyone's positions which were difficult to reconcile," Paolo Dal Pino, the president of governing body Lega Serie A, said on Sunday.

"I invite everyone to think as Serie A, not as individual clubs."
Lega Serie A announced on Sunday that it has called an emergency assembly for Wednesday to "examine the consequences the governmental measures related to coronavirus have had on the fixture list."
"Marotta represents the needs of Inter, I look after the general interests of all of Serie A, which unfortunately means daily conflicts of interests tied to each and every club. I have to promote Italian soccer and its image to the world, transmitting games in empty stadiums would have been a terrible calling card for the country."
The second banner read: "Respect for football. Respect for fans."
"What will happen from now on worries me ... it should have been the same for all teams this round, even postponing the whole round."
"If more matches are called off then, yes."