The Serie A Round 2 Juventus – Napoli game will be played at a later date as the Italian Olympic Commitee’s (CONI) Collegio di Garanzia fully ruled in the Partenopei’s favor in the appeal after the game was initially forfeited to the Bianconeri. The one-point deduction Napoli had received was also nullified.
The Azzurri did not participate to the game originally scheduled on October 4th after Piotr Zielinski and Elijf Elmas tested positive for COVID-19, as they were forbidden to travel due to public health restrictions, according to the club. The Italian Football Federation and the Serie A League did not recognize such reasons and punished them for refusing to show up.
In the previous appeal, inside the confines of the Federation, the Court confirmed the double sanction, indirectly suggesting that Napoli may have orchestrated the whole thing thanks to the influence of the president Aurelio De Laurentiis within the regional institutions. Back then, Napoli would have been forced to play also without Lorenzo Insigne, who had just picked up a thigh injury.
This final ruling was issued by a committee part of Italian Olympic Committee, chaired by former Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini. While the motivations will be released at a later date, Napoli sustained in their defense that they could not make it to match because of a force majeure, which should have triggered an automatic postponement. Juventus never participated to the legal proceedings.
It is still unclear when the Juventus – Napoli game will take place as there seem to be no open dates until May, though January 13 is already being reported as a possible date, but it would require the re-scheduling of the Coppa Italia fixtures.
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