The Italian Serie A has been suspended until at least 3 April because of coronavirus.

This follows an announcement by Italy’s Olympic committee calling for sports at all levels to be suspended because of the outbreak which has ravaged the country.

The suspension only covers matches in Serie A – Italy’s topflight – but does not cover Italian clubs or national teams participating in international competitions.

This means Italian teams still in European competition like the UEFA Champions League and Europa League can continue to host matches during this period.

Prior to this announcement, Serie A had already said all games would be played behind closed doors until 3 April. 

Games at the weekend were played behind closed doors including the Derby d’Italia between Juventus and Inter Milan on Sunday.

“This situation has no precedent in history,” a CONI statement said.

A prime ministerial decree has now been issued to confirm the decision.

The announcement came just after Sassuolo v Brescia kicked off in Serie A. The game carried on and Sassuolo won 3-0.

It was also confirmed on Monday that Sevilla v Roma in the Europa League on Thursday will be played behind closed doors.

Italy has been the European country worst hit by coronavirus so far, with over 7,000 confirmed cases and more than 450 deaths.

At the weekend Italy’s sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora accused Serie A of being “irresponsible” for ignoring his calls for football to be suspended because of the outbreak.

He said it “makes no sense” for football to continue after up to 16 million people were placed in quarantine in northern Italy in a bid to contain the spread of the virus – but the weekend’s games all took place behind closed doors.