Napoli appeal over Juventus defeat rejected as 3-0 forfeit and one-point penalty stand

 


Gennaro Gattuso's men failed to turn up in Turin for an October 4 match after local health authorities blocked them from travelling

Napoli's appeal over their 3-0 forfeit defeat to Juventus and subsequent one-point penalty has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.


Napoli were blocked from travelling to the October 4 match by local health authorities after two players, Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas, tested positive for Covid-19 along with a staff member at the club.


Juventus did turn up to the match at Allianz Stadium, which was officially cancelled 45 minutes after kick-off by the referee.

 

Following an investigation, Serie A ruled on October 14 that Juventus would be be awarded a 3-0 win while Napoli would also be penalised one point for failing to turn up to the match.

 

In their ruling, Serie A said that "force majeure", the legal term for an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond any party's control, did not exist in this case.

 

On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport backed up the previous ruling from Serie A, indicating that Napoli had decided long before the match that they were not going to travel to Turin.

 

The court ruled that Napoli "deserve the sanction because it was not at all impossible for them to take part in the match, having instead pushed the situation in that direction in a voluntary and pre-ordained manner.

"Napoli's behaviour was effectively creating an alibi for themselves not to play.

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