Getafe's Serbian midfielder Nemanja Maksimovic and Getafe's Spanish forward Angel Rodriguez eye the ball during the Spanish league football match between Getafe CF and RC Celta de Vigo at the Col Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe on March 7, 2020. (OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

MADRID - Angel Torres, the president of Getafe Football club, insists that his side will not travel to Italy to play the first leg of their Europa League tie against Inter Milan in order to avoid the risk of the COVID-19 virus.

Getafe are not going to fly to Italy, no matter who it upsets.If we have to lose the tie then we will do so with our heads held high, but I am worried that our people could get infected.

Angel Torres, president of Getafe Football club

The game was scheduled to be played behind closed doors, but with all of Italy in quarantine, with over 10,000 cases reported and after Spain banned flights from Italy for 14 days on Tuesday in an attempt to stop further cases arriving from a high-risk area, Torres has made it clear that his side will not travel.

"Getafe are not going to fly to Italy, no matter who it upsets," he said on Spanish radio network Onda Cero.

"If we have to lose the tie then we will do so with our heads held high, but I am worried that our people could get infected.

ALSO READ: 'I'm fine,' says Juventus' Rugani after testing positive for virus

"We are going to one of the focal points of the infection and we should not go to Italy. I don't want the risk of infection or for people to be frightened," commented the Getafe President.

Torres said that although Getafe had special permission to travel to Italy the club had "asked UEFA to look for an alternative venue."

"We don't want to travel to the focal point of the coronavirus and there is no need for us to do so," he insisted.

Tuesday saw two games in Spain (Valencia versus Atalanta and Eibar against Real Sociedad) both played behind closed doors and the Spanish government has confirmed that the next two rounds of matches in Spain will all be played in empty stadiums as part of preventative measures against the virus.

Torres said it would be impossible to play the 11 remaining games of the season in empty stadiums and that if Covid-19 continues to spread, "we will have to suspend the league."

READ MORE: UEFA suspend matches between Sevilla-Roma and Inter-Getafe

He also said that the forthcoming international matches will also have to be suspended as "you can't have players travelling all around the world" with the risk of infection.

Thursday's second Europa League game involving a Spanish club sees Sevilla entertain Roma behind closed doors in the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.