Calcio to remember quake victims

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has announced that there will be a minute's silence held prior to all matches this week as a mark of respect for the victims of the earthquake that struck the central Italian region of Abruzzo on Monday.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 on the richter scale struck the city of L'Aquila, 60 miles north-east of the capital Rome, and its region in the early hours of Monday morning killing over 270 people.

The death toll continues to rise as rescuers search for survivors under buildings wrecked by the devastating quake. Strong aftershocks were continuing almost 36 hours after the quake hit, which has left over a thousand people injured, some 28,000 homeless and more than 10,000 buildings destroyed.

A minute's silence will be observed ahead of all matches in Serie A, Lega Pro, the amateur leagues and the youth leagues, as well as in Udinese's UEFA Cup quarter-final tie with Werder Bremen on Thursday and all of Italy's national youth and women's teams. All players will also wear black armbands.

The Italian Football League (Lega Calcio) has decided to postpone the Serie B Week 35 fixtures scheduled for Friday 10 April as that date is now a national day of mourining across the country.

Clubs across Italy have expressed deep sympathy for all those affected via their official websites and several have confirmed that they will donate the gate receipts from their next home games to the region and other initiatives are being discussed to raise money.

Source: Various