Napoli are to appeal the 3-0 defeat and one-point deduction imposed by the Italian league on Wednesday for failing to turn up for their Ser...
Napoli are to appeal the 3-0 defeat and one-point deduction imposed by the Italian league on Wednesday for failing to turn up for their Serie A clash at Juventus earlier this month because of two coronavirus cases.
The Serie A disciplinary commission ruled that there had been no “force majeure” preventing Napoli from travelling despite two players testing positive and the team in isolation.
“Napoli have always respected the rules and the law,” the team said on Twitter. “(The team) confidently awaits the outcome of the appeal, firmly believing in justice.”
Gennaro Gattuso’s side maintained they had to remain in Naples on local health authority instructions after Eljif Elmas and Piotr Zielinski tested positive, and could not travel to Turin on October 4.
Serie A ruled “the complaint lodged by Napoli regarding the legality of the match is to be considered inadmissible” as the team had not done everything necessary to respect the protocol.
Napoli had requested a postponement, but Juventus continued to prepare for the match as normal with the game eventually abandoned 45 minutes after its scheduled start time.
Italy’s top flight are applying Uefa rules that say a match can take place as long as a side have 13 healthy players, including a goalkeeper.
The only possible exemption would be a...
