[ad_1]
Juventus is likely to be named the 3-0 winner of their scheduled Serie A showdown with Napoli, because the visiting team never showed up due to COVID-19 precautions.
Andrea Pirlo’s team arrived at Allianz Stadium on Sunday night for the kick-off at 7:45 p.m.
But Napoli was advised not to leave Naples after midfielders Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas tested positive for COVID-19, as did a member of the coaching staff.
Gennaro Gattuso’s team also played Genoa last weekend, which reported 17 positive tests for the week.
The club appealed to Serie A to have the match postponed, but their request was rejected.
Serie A responded by stating that there are no laws preventing Napoli from traveling to Turin.
“The Council of the Lega Calcio also approved a set of rules that can lead to the postponement of a game only with several cases of players testing positive for the virus,” the league announced in a statement by Goal.
“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 match from being played.”
It means that television coverage continued as normal and Premier Sports broadcast images of an empty Allianz stadium seven minutes after the start of the game.
Juventus are in the stadium and ready to take the field for their match with Napoli … but Gattuso’s team is back at home in Naples! :shout:
Incredible scenes from Turin: eyes:
The Azzurri are dealing with multiple COVID-19 cases since playing Genoa last weekend: large_blue_circle: pic.twitter.com/TFI8Q2lh06
– Premier Sports: tv: (@PremierSportsTV) October 4, 2020
The game was officially canceled 45 minutes after the proposed start time and Juventus could be named the winner by loss.
The president of Juventus, Andrea Agnelli, addressed the controversy after the non-title match and declared: “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. “
In theory, when Juventus line up and Napoli don’t, victory should automatically go to Juventus. In practice, it’s hard to imagine this ending quietly. My expectation is appeals, and potentially a court process, but that’s the best guess. We’ll see.
– Nicky Bandini (@NickyBandini) October 4, 2020
Juve herself earlier this week revealed that her team would be in quarantine after two positive tests on the coaching staff.
But they made a sensational U-turn on Saturday and declared that they would be available for this weekend’s clash.
The reigning champions even announced their starting lineup on social media, with names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala.
[ad_2]
