The Italian government has officially suspended Serie A football matches and all sporting events across the country due to the worsening Covid-19 outbreak.

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced that all sporting events in the country are to be put on hold until at least 3 April.

Italy's lockdown has extended nationwide on Monday, March 9.

However, while domestic football matches have been called off, it's unclear at this stage what will happen to the international fixtures scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Empty stadium

Defending Serie A champions Juventus are scheduled to host Lyon in the UEFA Champions League on March 17.

Before the unprecedented cancellation, Juventus faced rivals Inter Milan in an empty stadium on Sunday, March 8.

It was supposed to have been the biggest match of the Serie A season, but was played in front of empty stands:

Nobody was at the Allianz Stadium in Turin to witness the match.

Only media, technical staff, stadium staff and high ranking club officials were permitted into the stadium, with everyone having their temperature checked on arrival.

Cristiano Ronald high-fived imaginary fans before the match during his walk to the locker room:

Juventus vs Inter Milan is being played without fans, in an empty stadium, due to #COVID2019 outbreak in Italy.

Here's Cristiano Ronaldo pretending to shake hands with fans who'd have otherwise been there to greet him off the team bus.pic.twitter.com/htkGODJpAS

— Zucker Doctor (@DoctorLFC) March 8, 2020

While some sports continued to take place behind closed doors in Italy, other sports were postponed or cancelled prior to Monday's complete lockdown, such as several of the biggest one-day cycling races in Europe, including Milan-San Remo and the Strade Bianche.

All public events have been banned.

Schools and universities had already been closed until at least April 3.