Thewobbler
Well-Known Member
- Oct 29, 2016
- 3,814
- 5,701
"Juventus could be handed three points in controversial circumstances after they took to the field at Allianz Stadium to face Napoli on Sunday despite the absence of their opponents.
Napoli were blocked from making the journey to Turin by local health authorities after two players, Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas, tested positive for Covid-19 along with a member of staff at the club.
The game was officially cancelled 45 minutes after kick-off by the referee, to bring the curtain down on a strange Serie A saga that will likely be highly contested by the visitors following the decision to forge ahead."
Gennaro Gattuso's side had professed a hope to be able to postpone the tie, much as Genoa were able to put their encounter with Torino on ice following a significant coronavirus outbreak of their own.
In spite of this however, the Bianconeri announced on Saturday that they would take to the field regardless of the lack of opposition, indicating that the match could therefore be forfeited by the visitors, with the hosts handed a 3-0 walkover as a result.
Juve president Andrea Agnelli weighed after the game was called, stating: "Napoli president [Aurelio] De Laurentiis sent me a message and I replied that [we], as always, abide by the rules.
"He wanted to postpone the match, but we have regulations that tell us how to proceed. Every industry has its rules and we need to respect them. I don’t think the ASL [local health authority] of Naples can intervene if the FIGC protocol, which refers back to the government’s circular, is not observed at some point. If the protocol changes, we will once again abide by it".
Not sure I agree with this.
