Confusion over Ronaldo’s Juventus debut

With two matches already postponed over the opening weekend of the season, it has been claimed the Bianconeri’s clash with Chievo will also be delayed

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus debut may be in doubt amid claims that the Bianconeri’s match will be one of those postponed after the Genoa bridge collapse.

A state of emergency has been declared after 39 people died following the collapse of a motorway bridge on Tuesday morning.

Serie A have already postponed Sampdoria’s clash with Fiorentina and AC Milan’s fixture against Genoa, with local sides Samp and Genoa both requesting postponements in order to mourn.

Juve are set to face Chievo this weekend, with Ronaldo preparing to make his competitive bow following his €100 million (£89.5m/$114m) arrival from Real Madrid over the summer.

But according to Sampdoria chairman Massimo Ferrero, his compatriot at Juve, Andrea Agnelli, has already spoken with him to suggest the Scudetto holders will also request their match be called off.

“I talked with Agnelli, he told me Juventus won’t be playing. It’s impossible to think about playing football, on Saturday there will be the State Funeral service,” he said.

A statement from Fiorentina added: “We think that, in front of tragedies like the one that happened in Genoa, everything else become secondary.

“In this moment it should be worth that the Italian football stopped, to mourn and respect the mourning of tens of families. Football is passion and fun, but this is a moment of pain: we should all be close to Genoa and its casualties.”

In a statement from Serie A, though, it has been suggested that all matches not involving sides local to Genoa will go ahead, with players instead holding a minute’s silence and wearing black armbands to honour the victims.

“The president of Serie A has decided on the postponement of the Sampdoria-Fiorentina and Milan-Genoa matches,” it read.

“This is due to the requests for postponement of their matches scheduled for Sunday August 19 at 20.30 (CET) on the part of the clubs Sampdoria and Genoa as result of the tragedy which hit Genoa, and having received the consent of both Fiorentina and Milan.