Serie A Matches Postponed Following Pope Francis’ Funeral

The Serie A, Italy’s premier football league, has shifted Saturday’s three matches to Sunday due to the funeral of Pope Francis taking place in Rome on that day, as announced on Tuesday.

Initial reports had indicated that Serie A might make an exception for the match between Inter Milan and AS Roma, providing Simone Inzaghi’s team with extra recovery time ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona next week.

However, the league has now confirmed that the encounter at San Siro will begin at 15:00 local time on Sunday.

Pope Francis, who was the first Latin American pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, passed away on Monday at the age of 88. His funeral will take place in St Peter’s Square before his burial at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Lazio’s match against Parma, originally scheduled for Saturday in Rome, has been rescheduled for Monday at 20:45. Additionally, Como’s home fixture against Genoa has been rearranged to Sunday at 12:30.

Following the Pope’s passing, Serie A postponed Monday’s fixtures, with these games now set for Wednesday, and on Tuesday, Italy’s National Olympic Committee (CONI) requested the cancellation of all sporting events planned for Saturday.

Check out all the upcoming Serie A fixtures for the next round here.