Juventus are likely to be named 3-0 winners of their scheduled Serie A clash with Napoli - because the away side never turned up due to COVID-19 precautions.
Andrea Pirlo's side arrived at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday evening for the 19:45 kick-off.
Advert
But Napoli were advised not to leave Naples after midfielders Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas tested positive for COVID-19, as did as a member of the coaching staff.
Gennaro Gattuso's side also played against Genoa last weekend who reported 17 positive tests in the week.
The club appealed to Serie A for the game to be postponed, but their plea was rejected.
Advert
Serie A responded by stating there were no laws preventing Napoli from travelling to Turin.
"The Council of the Lega Calcio did also approve 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 per Goal.
"These conditions can't be applied to the current Napoli case at the moment and there are no decisions of the local authorities that prevent the game from being played."
It means that TV coverage continued as normal and Premier Sports aired footage of an empty Allianz Stadium seven minutes after the game was meant to start.
The game was officially called off 45 minutes after the proposed start time and Juventus could be named winners via forfeit.
Advert
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli addressed the controversy following the non-starting game and stated: "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."
Juve themselves earlier this week revealed their squad would be quarantining after two positive tests in the coaching staff.
Advert
But they made a sensational U-turn on Saturday and declared they would be available for this weekend's clash.
The current champions even announced their starting line-up on social media, with names such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala featuring.
Featured Image Credit:Topics:ย Football News, Football, Serie A, Coronavirus, Juventus, Napoli, Covid-19
