Juventus Grab all three Points as Napoli Fails to Show up
Juventus have been handed the 3-0 victory by default and Napoli docked one point, as the Disciplinary Commission rules the Partenopei didn’t follow the COVID-19 protocol. Napoli did not make the trip to Turin for the Serie A Week 3 game which was rescheduled to be played on the 4th of October.
Two players Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas tested positive in the Napoli camp and the game was postponed. The club said they have been banned from travelling by the local ASL (health authority), which urged the team to self-isolate as a precaution. Juventus and the Lega Serie A pointed out this had been taken into account by the existing COVID-19 protocol accepted by all the clubs before the season began and two cases did not warrant pulling out of the match.
The Disciplinary Commission has said the reasons Napoli gave was not good enough to warrant them from missing the fixture. The ASL could technically over-rule the Serie A protocol, but the investigation decided this did not warrant ‘force majeure’ – unforeseeable circumstances to prevent their journey.
As a result, Napoli is automatically owed a 3-0 defeat in the match that was not played, plus they have docked a point as punishment for not attending the scheduled encounter. The Serie A protocol agreed by all the clubs and UEFA notes that as long as a team has 13 players available – including at least one goalkeeper the game must go ahead. Napoli is the second team this season to receive the 3-0 punishment after AS Roma, is likely to make an appeal but for now, all three points have been given to the Italian Serie A champions.