On October 4, the most anticipated match of round 3 of Serie A between Juventus and Napoli could not take place because coach Gennaro Gattuso and his team did not appear at the Allianz Stadium.
The reason Napoli asked to postpone the match was because there were 2 players and 1 coaching staff member infected with COVID-19 in the squad. However, the organizers still followed the rules, awarding Juve a 3-0 victory.
According to the organizers, the two players with infections that were not enough are " force majeure" conditions to ask for a postponement of the match. Moreover, the "Old Mrs. Ba" still organizes training, even coming to the stadium to wait for Napoli according to the schedule, so it cannot comply with the requirements of one side. Serie A rules require a club with over 13 healthy players to be eligible to compete. In Napoli's case, they were treated defeated by law.
However, to be fair, Napoli's request to postpone the match is completely reasonable. At the end of September, they played against Genoa - a club with 22 COVID-19 infections. Therefore, they are advised by local health organizations not to travel to Turin to avoid widespread spread. This is not a bad thought, even ensuring the safety of Juventus' star players.
Juventus President Andrea Agnelli also revealed that Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis had texted him, wanting to postpone the match. "It's a reasonable request but the tournament has clear rules and we have to follow them," Agnelli said.
Napoli is the second case in Serie A this season to be held to a draw. Previously, AS Roma also suffered a 3-0 loss for miscalculating the age of players, allowing players who have not registered to play on the field.
