Osimhen’s Napoli vs Juve clash in doubt over COVID-19 cases
Positive coronavirus cases at both Juventus and Victor Osimhen’s Napoli is a big threat to tonight Serie A fixture despite the Bianconeri desire to play.
According to reports coming out of Turin, Juventus intend to take to the field against Napoli, despite reports their Serie A visitors would not been allowed to travel.
Gennaro Gattuso’s side have won each of their opening two league games this season, scoring eight times without conceding, and are set to face the reigning champions on Sunday.
However, Napoli have revealed that two players – Piotr Zielinski and Elif Elmas – and staff member Giandomenico Costi have contracted coronavirus, throwing the fixture into doubt.
The results of the last four tests have revealed that Elif Elmas has tested positive for Covid-19.
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) October 3, 2020
Napoli’s opponents last weekend Genoa have since reported 22 cases of COVID-19 and that serious outbreak, and the Partenopei’s proximity to it, has reportedly resulted in local authorities stepping in and banning Gattuso’s squad from travelling to Turin.
Juventus Football Club announces that the First Team will take to the field for the Juventus – Napoli match tomorrow at 20:45, as foreseen by the Serie A League calendar.
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 3, 2020
Juve themselves reported two positive cases on Saturday – revealing their squad were isolating internally as a result – but they released a statement confirming they still wanted to play the game against Napoli.
🎙@Pirlo_official: "We know what to do."
💭The coach's thoughts ahead of #JuveNapoli 👉https://t.co/8jzGp1ZvhQ pic.twitter.com/P94ud6fr0n
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 3, 2020
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“Juventus Football Club announces that the first team will take to the field for the Juventus-Napoli match tomorrow at 20:45, as foreseen by the Serie A League calendar,” it read.
League rules, which are based on UEFA protocol, state that a match must go ahead if a team has 13 players available, including a goalkeeper, though there are mitigating factors if there is intervention from local authorities.