Italy coach Roberto Mancini said Sunday he was ready for the European Championship to be postponed until 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We would have won the European Championship this summer, we can also win it in 2021,” Mancini told Italian television station Rai Sport.
“Let’s wait to see what Uefa decides, but I adapt to everything, right now the priority is to save lives.” European football’s governing body meet on Tuesday to discuss all domestic and European competitions, as well as Euro 2020, which is due to take place from June 12 to July 12.
Italy are set to host the opening match in Rome on June 12, in a tournament which will be played in 12 countries across the continent. All sport in Italy has been suspended until April 3 with the nation’s 60 million inhabitants in lockdown to avoid the spread of the virus.
“The fact is that the problems we are having now other nations will have shortly,” continued the former Manchester City and Inter Milan coach.
“First of all we need to protect people’s health, we have to wait for the peak, then when this situation begins to ease off we could start talking and decide everything later.
“When we return to our normal life, to football, we will be happier, we’ll find freedom, be able to go back to matches at the stadium, have fun,” added the 55-year-old.
Italy won all 10 of their Euro 2020 qualifying matches as they roared back under Mancini’s guidance having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. They approach Euro 2020 searching for just their second European title after winning in 1968.
Closed ceremony
The Olympic flame handover ceremony for the Tokyo Games will take place without spectators in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak, the Greek Olympic committee said Monday.
The committee said the accreditation cards that had been issued for Thursday’s ceremony at the stadium in Athens where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896 would not be valid. The body’s headquarters will also remain closed from Monday until further notice.
The committee cancelled the remainder of the Olympic torch relay last week after crowds gathered in southern Greece to watch part of the torch relay in Sparta, where the torch was carried by actor Gerard Butler.
Rijiju’s message
With the coronavirus outbreak bringing all sports activities to a halt in India, sports minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday urged the athletes to not lose spirit and keep working hard to stay battle ready for competitions.
“Due to coronavirus, sporting events and competitions are postponed temporarily but I appeal all our athletes not to lose the spirit, keep practising and focus on your training,” Rijiju wrote on his Twitter handle.
Hockey closure
Hockey India on Monday postponed all its junior and sub-junior national championships, which were scheduled to start from April 10, hoping to resume by the end of next month should the situation improve. The decision was taken by the Hockey India executive board.
Cricket takes a hit
The Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket Boards on Monday decided to postpone the upcoming ODI and Test in Karachi indefinitely. Bangladesh were due to arrive in Karachi on March 29 to play an ODI on April 1 and the second ICC World Test Championship Test from April 9-5. “The two Boards will now work together to identify a future opportunity to complete the ICC World Test Championship commitment,” the PCB said in a statement.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has cancelled the last two rounds of the Plunket Shield and awarded the title to league leaders Wellington Firebirds on Monday. More than concerns around mass gathering, NZC said it wanted to curb heightened risk of transmission in airports, planes and hotels. NZC has also cancelled its March 30 annual award ceremony.
Six Surrey players are self-isolating as a precautionary measure, the English County cricket club announced Monday. A club statement said that while not all six had reported symptoms, close proximity meant they had all been instructed to stay at home.
