Lyon will take on Juventus in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie behind closed doors in Turin next week, the French club’s president Jean-Michel Aulas told AFP on Tuesday.
Italy has put a stop to all sporting events taking place until April 3 in a country-wide lockdown aimed at slowing the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has killed 631 people in just over two weeks, but competitions which fall under international jurisdiction can be held.
“We have received a letter from UEFA which tells us that the match will be in Turin and behind closed doors,” Aulas said to AFP.
Lyon will travel to face the Serie A leaders Juve at the Allianz Stadium on March 17 with a 1-0 lead from the first leg in France and with no home fans to create a hostile atmosphere as they aim to reach the quarter-finals.
“We will take precautions. We will only go to Turin on the day of the match. It is 45 minutes by plane from Lyon,” added Aulas.
“We will check the players before travelling there and back. We are also going to disinfect the hotel where we will go before the game.”
Atalanta’s 4-3 win over Valencia in Spain in the Champions League on Tuesday was played behind closed doors, while no fans will be allowed to attend Wednesday’s game between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund in France.
Next week’s games between Bayern Munich and Chelsea in Germany and between Barcelona and Napoli in Spain will also go ahead behind closed doors.
Juventus seemed unaffected by the lack of home support at the weekend as they beat Inter Milan 2-0 in a ghostly atmosphere, their last Serie A match until the government withdraws its current decree.
Lyon will have to play their domestic matches behind closed doors until April 15 following a decision by the French football league on Tuesday.
