‘Covid protocol’ costs Napoli
Napoli risk a 3-0 forfeit for failing to turn up for their Serie A clash against Juventus amid a row over coronavirus protocol in Italy on Sunday.
Gennaro Gattuso's Napoli had been top of the league going into weekend's action with two wins in as many games as they target a third Serie A title and first in 30 years.
But Eljif Elmas and Piotr Zielinski's positive coronavirus tests forced the southerners into home isolation on the instructions of health authorities in the Campania region.
The Lega Serie A insisted all the health protocols were in place for the match to safely go ahead as scheduled for Turin at 1845 GMT.
"(Napoli president Aurelio) De Laurentiis asked me to postpone the match, I replied that there are regulations to be respected," Juve president Andrea Agnelli told Sky Sport Italia."A 3-0 win? I always prefer to win on the field," Agnelli added whose side had four points after two games as they chase a 10th title in a row.
Amid the turmoil, Andrea Pirlo's champions prepared their game as usual, naming a starting list, despite solid indications of a Napoli no-show for the third game of the season. The Juventus bus pulled into the Allianz Stadium an hour beforehand, with the players remaining in their tracksuits on the pitch, along with referees and a handful of supporters under the rain.
The match was eventually abandoned 45 minutes after its scheduled start time, with Napoli's fate now depending on a meeting of Italian league officials.
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