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Local health authorities prevented the Partenopei from making the trip to Turin after two players tested positive for Covid-19.
Juventus could receive three points in controversial circumstances after they took to the field at the Allianz Stadium to face Napoli on Sunday despite the absence of their opponents.
Local health authorities prevented Naples from making the trip to Turin after two players, Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas, tested positive for Covid-19 along with a member of the club’s staff.
The game was officially canceled 45 minutes after kickoff by the referee, to close the curtain on a strange Serie A saga that will likely be highly contested by the visitors following the decision to move on.
Gennaro Gattuso’s team had professed hope that they could postpone the tie, just as Genoa was able to put its encounter with Torino on ice after a significant outbreak of its own coronavirus.
However, despite this, the bianconeri announced on Saturday that they would take the field regardless of the lack of opposition, indicating that therefore the visitors could lose the match and as a result the hosts gave a walkover of 3-0.
Juve president Andrea Agnelli weighed in after the match was called and said: “President of Napoli [Aurelio] De Laurentiis sent me a message and I replied that [we]As always, follow the rules.
“I wanted to postpone the game, but we have regulations that tell us how to proceed. Every industry has its rules and we must respect them. I don’t think ASL [local health authority] Naples can intervene if the FIGC protocol, which refers to the government circular, is not followed at some point. If the protocol changes, we will comply once more. “
Andrea Pirlo made three changes to the team that drew 2-2 with Roma in their previous game, with Paulo Dybala, Arthur and Rodrigo Bentancur selected in the starting lineup for the no-match.
Serie A backed Juventus’ position before Sunday’s match, stating that there were no laws preventing Napoli from complying with the match despite their positive tests.
“The Council of the Lega Calcio also approved a set of rules that can lead to the postponement of a game with only several cases of players testing positive for the virus,” the league announced in a statement. “These conditions cannot be applied to the current Napoli case at this time and there are no decisions of the local authorities that prevent the game from being played.”
Napoli have won the first two games of the new season, compared to Juve, who have only scored four points, but such a result could see them surpass their rivals in their quest for more success in Serie A.
The former has been one of Pirlo’s team’s closest rivals for the past decade, rarely finishing outside the top three and often providing stiff opposition in national cup competition, having won the season’s Coppa Italia. passed on a penalty shootout against the Bianconeri.
