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The stands didn’t fill and the crowd didn’t roar, but there was an important soccer match scheduled in Milan on Thursday, so Internazionale, the home team, and Ludogorets, the visitors from Bulgaria, set aside their fears about the coronavirus and dutifully went about playing each other.

Italian health officials had set the bizarre stage for the game by ordering the stadium closed to spectators. In Italy, where the number of confirmed coronavirus cases soared past 600 this week, the authorities have restricted public gatherings in an attempt the slow the spread of the outbreak.

But the Europa League schedule was inflexible, and so the round-of-32 game went on, with only the players’ shouts, the coaches’ instructions and the referee’s whistle as a soundtrack.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/sports/soccer/coronavirus-italy-milan-soccer-stadium-photos.html