Juventus vs Napoli, how it did not happen: Party abandoned because Napoli did not arrive

Summary:
Juve vs Napoli has been abandoned after the referees waited 45 minutes for the visiting team to arrive. Napoli did not appear for the tie and therefore Juventus leave with 3 points by virtue of a walkover. Great advantage for Juve as things are in the league. But the big picture matters. Napoli did not travel after the risks of infection after their match against Genoa, after which more than 19 of the latter’s players tested positive.

FULL STORY | With the Juventus-Napoli match abandoned, Gattuso’s team will suffer a 3-0 defeat against Serie A

Serie A’s handling of the entire incident has drawn criticism. While we await official confirmation on the points Juventus can win, Napoli can appeal the decision, whatever it may be. Unprecedented circumstances for the league, but as things stand for now, there is no game at Allianz Stadium tonight. Thanks for tuning in to this blog.

How it happened:

1:30 am: A THREAD OF QUOTES FROM THE PRESS CONFERENCE THAT FOLLOWED THE ABANDONED GAME:

1:05 am: PARTY ABANDONED after Napoli failed to make the tie in Turin.

12:55 am: Should the Juventus players split up and play an exhibition match for the fans who have turned up and for all of us who followed the match remotely? That would be fun, right?

12:45 am: It seems that time has stopped waiting for a result in this game, but while we wait, it is also the transfer deadline day! We hope that many last minute riots await us today. Keep up with all the craziness here.

12:45 am: The referee is said to wait 45 minutes before blowing the whistle full time. We are still 15 minutes away from a decision.

12:35 am: All of us right now

Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus waiting for a decision on the match against Napoli. – Reuters

12:20 am: Shortly after the scheduled start time. Still no news from the authorities. Juventus have warmed up and appointed their team for the night, but Napoli have not traveled to Turin to participate in this game. At this point, the delay in declaring the hike seems unnecessary. Fans, players and officials at the Allianz Stadium await a decision on the outcome of the match.

12:10 am NAPOLI RELEASES REPORTS SUGGESTING THE BOSS GENNARO GATTUSO HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19.

12:00 am JUVENTUS HAS APPOINTED AN INITIAL LINEUP AGAINST NAPOLI, [A Napoli side that isn’t here, or isn’t expected, by the way]

11:45 pm As things stand at the moment, the match is on, but various reports suggest that Napoli have not left for Turin, while the Juventus players have arrived at the Allianz Stadium. If this continues, Juventus will win by virtue of a walkover and Napoli have the option to appeal. One wonders why these decisions weren’t made earlier, given the circumstances that have developed over the last week and with health and safety in mind.

11:30 pm: Serie A and UEFA say that as long as a team can line up 13 players, including a goalkeeper, the game in question can continue. Given Napoli’s contact with Genoa players, a team that has since reported more than 19 cases of COVID-19, the tie is shrouded in a cloud of doubt.

The match may not happen tonight. This is why:

Confusion reigned over one of the main Serie A games of the season on Sunday as Juventus prepared as usual to host Napoli, while local media reported that the visitors had not been able to travel due to an order from their local health authority.

Juventus, which said on Saturday it would take to the field, simply wrote “Matchday” in a Twitter post accompanied by a photograph of forward Cristiano Ronaldo and the time and place of the match.

However, Sky Sport Italia and other outlets said that Napoli, where two players tested positive for COVID-19 in the past four days, had not gone to Turin and was preparing to go into team quarantine.

READ | Man United defender Dalot completes loan to AC Milan

Reports said that the local Naples health authority had not allowed Napoli to travel as a precaution after the positive cases. However, there were no official comments from the team or the health authority. Unless Serie A orders the match to be postponed, Napoli would lose the match 3-0.

Either way, it would be a great shame for Italian football if in a top competition match a team and the referees showed up and waited.

Last Sunday, Napoli hosted Genoa, where 17 players tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week. Genoa’s home game against Torino on Saturday was postponed.

Serie A has ruled that matches must continue as long as each team has a minimum of 13 players available and that teams unable to play would suffer a loss.

However, teams have the right once in the season to request a postponement without losing the right if 10 players become infected in a week.