Four Serie A games called off after snowfall

ROME - Four Serie A games were called off over the weekend due to heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, local media reported Sunday.

The Sunday afternoon game between Genoa and visiting Bari was the last game to be postponed, despite clear skies at the seaside town, as freezing temperature made access to the stands dangerous for the fans at the Luigi Ferraris stadium.

Udinese-Cagliari, which was scheduled in the north-eastern town of Udine, was cancelled earlier Sunday due to frozen snow on the pitch at the Friuli stadium.

Team officials, referees and authorities Saturday agreed on the cancellation of Bologna-Atalanta and Fiorentina-AC Milan.

No date was set for the snowed-out matches, which are likely to be moved to late January.

Thick snow and ice on the pitch was the basis for the cancellation in Bologna.

There were fewer problems for the pitch in Florence, but ice made the stands and the streets leading to the Artemio Franchi unsafe as a large crowd was expected for the match.

Four Serie B games and dozens in the lower divisions were not played Saturday as a cold front swept northern and central Italy.

There have been no alerts about the six remaining games of the 17th round of the Serie A, which closes 2009 ahead of a two-week winter break.