31 May 2012

Italian football friendly called off

6:52 am on 31 May 2012

Italy's football friendly against Luxembourg in Parma has been cancelled after the earthquake which struck the region near the northern city earlier in the day.

At least 10 people have died after the magnitude 5.8 quake hit northern Italy on Tuesday, just over a week after a similar sized shock struck the region last week.

The cancellation is another blow to coach Cesare Prandelli and his Italy squad, who have already been rocked by police raids at their training camp in Coverciano as part of the recent match-fixing scandal.

Prandelli, who today announced his 23-man squad for Euro 2012, will now have to wait until Friday's friendly with Russia at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich to get a glimpse of his side.