Milan donates €250,000 to Coronavirus support effort
Milan has donated €250,000 to help with the coronavirus emergency support effort in Italy, where the entire country has been put on lockdown.
The coronavirus outbreak has crippled the nation, with Serie A and all sporting events suspended until April 3 following the Italian National Olympic Committee's (CONI) decision on Monday.
It comes after a significant increase in cases, with a total of 9,172 people infected as of Monday in Italy.
Milan – following in the footsteps of neighbours Inter's €100,000 donation – and Fondazione Milan have jointly donated to the response efforts of AREU (Azienda Regionale Emergenza Urgenza), the emergency arm of the Lombardy region's government.
"There are things in life more important than football," Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis said in a statement. "At a time when all of us need to take care of the most vulnerable amongst us, we must all act with the utmost responsibility and listen to the advice of the relevant authorities.
"On behalf of the club, I am proud to support the incredible efforts of our region's emergency response teams with this donation. The health and safety of our loved ones is our highest priority. We understand that our fans are going through an extremely difficult time.
"We are all worried about those nearest and dearest to us and about the implications for the future. Milan is more than a football club. It is a community of people who care for each other and we also represent the great city of Milano around the world.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Milanisti. We have already announced that we will reimburse all those who have shown their love for the club by issuing refunds to any games cancelled or postponed and we will be taking further steps to support our fans through these difficult times as they have always supported us."
Globally, there have been 114,458 coronavirus cases with 4,027 deaths.
More than 3,100 people have died in China, while over 400 people have succumbed to the virus in Italy.
