ROME (Reuters) – The Italian authorities has authorized a new sports activities protocol outlining clearer pointers on when a match ought to be postponed for COVID-19 associated causes.
Sport, well being and authorities our bodies have agreed that fixtures should be fulfilled except 35% or extra of the gamers in a squad have examined constructive to the virus.
Positive-testing gamers should self-isolate, whereas their shut contacts don’t have to however, should be regularly examined for 5 days, put on an FFP2 masks off the pitch and report a destructive check consequence 4 hours earlier than a match.
Italy has struggled with hovering COVID-19 circumstances in current weeks, reaching a excessive of greater than 228,000 each day circumstances on Jan. 18.
Stadium capacities had been diminished to a most 5,000 for the ultimate two rounds of Serie A fixtures in January, in a bid to cease the unfold.
The hope is that new measures round postponements ought to cease further fixture confusion after a chaotic begin to the yr.
Four video games in Serie A had been farcically deserted on Jan. 7 when just one staff confirmed up for every of them, due to conflicting directions from sport and well being authorities.
The league physique caught to the unique protocol by refusing to postpone video games the place groups had not less than 13 gamers, together with a goalkeeper, obtainable.
But 4 groups – Bologna, Torino, Salernitana and Udinese – had been forbidden from travelling by their native well being authorities (ASL) due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
That meant their respective opponents Inter Milan, Atalanta, Venezia and Fiorentina turned up on the stadium, named a staff and waited till half time for the match to be formally deserted.
With Serie A and the ASLs lastly on the identical web page, the hope is that the scenario shouldn’t be repeated.
(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
