Saturday's Italian Serie A fixtures moved to pay respect to Pope Francis

Saturday's Italian Serie A fixtures will be moved to other dates and times to allow Italians mourn and celebrate the life of the late Pope Francis without distraction, Italian football authorities have declared.

Saturday's three fixtures will now be played on Sunday due to Pope Francis' funeral being held that day in Rome, Serie A authorities said Tuesday night.

Earlier media reports had suggested that Serie A might make an exception for Inter Milan's clash with visitors AS Roma to allow Simone Inzaghi's side additional rest time ahead of their midweek Champions League semi-final at Barcelona.

But the league has confirmed that the game at San Siro will now kick off at 1500 local time (1300 GMT) on Sunday.

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, aged 88.

His funeral will be held at St Peter's Square in front of the Basilica of St Peter before the burial in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Lazio were to play Parma in Rome on Saturday, which has been rescheduled for Monday night, while Como's home game with Genoa has been moved to Sunday lunchtime.

Serie A postponed Monday's matches after the Pope's death, with the games rescheduled for tonight, and on Tuesday Italy's National Olympic Committee (CONI) called for the suspension of all sporting events scheduled for Saturday.