Coronavirus: Torino risks forfeit after failing to complete the Serie A match against Lazio
Torino did not travel to Rome following a Covid-19 outbreak; Lazio normally showed up at the Olympic Stadium only for the cancellation of the match; in similar scenes, Napoli did not appear for a match against Juventus in October.
Lazio’s Serie A match against Torino became a farce on Tuesday when they showed up at the Olympic Stadium despite Torino being locked in quarantine more than 600km away due to a Covid-19 epidemic.
In a bizarre repeat of Juventus’ abandoned clash with Napoli earlier this season, contradictory instructions from a local health authority (ASL) and the league body led Lazio to show up for the scheduled kick-off at 6.30pm. (1730 GMT) and to wait 45 minutes. before the game was officially abandoned.
Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi called a team for the match, but his players remained to have fun as some danced on the sideline and others fooled around with unused cameras on the sidelines.
“I could say many things but I will keep them to myself. We respected the rules by coming to the stadium, ”Lazio sporting director Igli Tare told Sky Italia.
“We will wait 45 minutes as per regulation, then we will leave it in the hands of the authorities”.
The Torino team was tasked with quarantining by the Turin ASL until midnight on Tuesday after eight players and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
Last Friday’s match against Sassuolo was suspended due to the outbreak, but the Italian news agency ANSA reported that the Lega Serie A council unanimously decided in an urgent meeting on Tuesday that the match in Rome should go ahead as planned, leaving the owner of Torino Urbano Cairo furious.
“The championship is not defended by not taking note of objective reality. You can’t leave Torino, that’s obvious, ”he told La Presse.
“It’s a decision that speaks for itself. I expect logical things to be done, if you add one plus one you shouldn’t have to go through a thousand steps to get to two “.
Torino are likely to suffer a 3-0 defeat for not showing up for the scheduled kick-off, a punishment they should appeal.
Napoli were defeated 3-0 and deducted one point in October after not traveling to Turin for a Serie A match against champions Juventus, saying ASL had told them to stay home after positive cases of Covid-19.
The result was equally chaotic scenes at the Allianz Stadium when the Juventus team and match officials showed up despite the opposition being hundreds of kilometers away.
Napoli later successfully appealed against the punishment to the Guarantee Committee of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), Italy’s highest court of sport, and Serie A president Paolo Dal Pino admitted that the Torino case could go in the same way.
“For us the game must go on, but if there is a harsh and restrictive attitude on the part of the ASL, we must also make assessments based on the decision of the Coni di Garanzia, which unfortunately has established a legal precedent with the Juve case- Naples, “Dal Pino said this on Monday on the radio of Gr Parliament.
