Page 36 FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has said that international matches will be postponed, if deadly coronavirus continues to spread, stressing that: “The health of people is much more important.”
England’s pre-Euro friendly against Italy, at Wembley, next month, may be called off, thanks to the coronavirus crisis.
Gianni Infantino stated that he “would not exclude anything”, when it comes to postponing forthcoming international fixtures, as the world of sport reacts to the spread of the virus.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s annual International Football Association Board, IFAB, meeting to discuss the game’s laws, Infantino added that, a proposal to allow leeway over the offside rule is unlikely to gain his support, stating that VAR is “here to stay”, and added that concussion substitutions may be trialled during the football section of the Olympics.
The Football Association is waiting on government advice, before deciding whether to look at if the March fixture should be reviewed. More than 400 cases of the virus have been diagnosed in Italy, with 12 deaths reported and counting.
“I would not exclude anything at this moment”, Infantino said.
“I think we have to monitor the situation and those in charge, the government, the institutions, they also take decisions on what is allowed and what is not”, he added.
“We cannot joke with health”, Infantino said.
“We have to take it very seriously. I am in favour of looking into having substitutions in case there is a concussion, because it can happen, and we need to protect the health of the Players above everything else.
“I think maybe it is important that there are trials before next season. We have the Olympic Games for example, where we could as FIFA try something like that and see what happens.
“I believe more in permanent than temporary”, he stated, adding that: “That is my personal view.”
On the coronavirus threat to the Olympics, Infantino added he is “hopeful” that there would be no issues.
