Heavy rain and flooding sees Bologna v AC Milan postponed

Heavy rain and flooding in northeast Italy has forced the postponement of Saturday's Serie A match between Bologna and AC Milan, local officials announced.

Torrential downpours have already claimed the life of a 20-year-old man whose car was swept away by the rush of water south of Bologna, firefighters said.

"The match between Bologna and AC Milan would have involved the presence of 35 000 people at the Dall'Ara stadium near the most exposed place in the city," explained the municipality of Bologna in a statement.

"This would have meant public order problems with the presence of supporters and the closure of traffic in the entire surrounding area from early afternoon until night."

Bologna, last season's surprise team in Serie A, have endured a poor start to the 2024-25 campaign – they are 12th with nine points and have won only one of their first eight matches.

AC Milan are in fourth spot on 14 points, five points behind leaders Napoli.