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March Madness is still going to happen with fans in attendance, so far. Same with The Masters, the Summer Olympics, and the NBA, though the latter has warned empty arenas are possible. However, the coronavirus has already claimed some tournament games in Division III as well as Serie A matches as they will be played in empty stadiums until at least April.
Which made the Italian Serie A football match between Juventus and Inter Milan at the Juventus stadium on Sunday a very bizarre scene.
The day began with the players entering the stadium to silence rather than the usual throng of adoring fans, something that Ronaldo pretended wasn’t the case as he slapped five with imaginary fans in the tunnel.
CHIUDETE TUTTO PERCHÉ ABBIAMO UN VINCITORE: CRISTIANO RONALDO pic.twitter.com/HXZpUTvrKF
— 𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒆 | rwrb & 911 era (@_deenise19) March 8, 2020
Journalists that were allowed to attend were forced to have their temperatures taken before being granted access.
As for the game itself, Juventus defeated Inter 2-0 thanks to goals by Paulo Dybala and Aaron Ramsey, after which Ronaldo applauded the fans that were not in attendance.
https://twitter.com/b3naldo7/status/1236749936911253505
All in all, it was one of the most bizarre things one will see in professional sports.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qH6LxyZ78I