Four Serie A matches were scheduled for Easter Monday. Following the death of the Pope, all Italian soccer matches have now been canceled.
On Easter Monday at 10 a.m., the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88. The death of the head of the Catholic Church also has immediate consequences for Italian soccer.
Half an hour after the announcement of his death, the association announced that all matches scheduled for Easter Monday in Serie A and the lower leagues would be “postponed to a date yet to be determined.”
“Italian football joins hundreds of millions of people in mourning the painful death of Pope Francis,” said association president Gabriele Gravina: ”He was a great example of Christian charity and dignity in suffering and always supported the world of sport, especially football, which he loved passionately. His human and spiritual closeness to the sick, the poor, and the persecuted throughout the world was his greatest testimony, a beacon that will continue to shine for generations to come. He will remain forever in our hearts as believers and lovers of soccer.”
Four Serie A matches canceled
Four first division matches have been canceled: FC Turin’s match against Udinese Calcio scheduled for 12:30 p.m., Cagliari Calcio’s match against AC Florence at 3 p.m., the clash between CFC Genoa and Lazio Rome at 6 p.m., and Juventus Turin’s away match in Parma at 8:45 p.m.
In addition, all matches in the lower leagues have been canceled. In Serie B and C, the second and third divisions, entire match days with ten games each were scheduled for Monday, which will now not take place.
