Italy’s football schedule into disarray

ROME: Italy’s football schedule has been thrown into disarray by the new coronavirus and its bosses are taking out their frustrations via social media and calling each other names. The football-mad Mediterranean country has borne the European brunt of the COVID-19 disease now sweeping across much of the world. More than 2,000 people have tested positive and 52 have died from the virus in Italy since February 22. The big problem for football is that the Italian epicentre of the outbreak is in the northern part of the country where many of the big teams play. Milan’s Lombardy region has recorded 38 deaths and its western neighbour Piedmont -- home to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus -- has also been heavily hit. Now the bosses of Inter Milan are lashing out at league president Paolo Dal Pino for what they view as completely random scheduling decisions that favour specific teams.