Inter Milan’s planned Serie A match against Bologna devolved into farce on Thursday afternoon

Rising COVID- The local health authority (ASL) placed the Bologna squad under quarantine for 7-10 days starting on Wednesday, preventing them from playing in their planned home match against Inter, which was set to kick off at 11:30 GMT on Thursday.

Refuse to Cancel Game

However, because Serie A refused to cancel games, Inter was forced to show up and practice as usual before the game, with officials even being entrusted with inspecting the pitch despite the absence of any Bologna players. Inter will be awarded a 3-0 victory under Serie A rules, pending any Bologna challenge.

Despite this, Inter director Beppe Marotta, who was there in Bologna, claims that the system is broken.

‘The situation is chaotic,’ Marotta told Sky Sport Italia. ‘Games have been postponed by local health authorities who decided independently.

‘Bologna were ready to play and they suffered the situation from ASL which have taken this decision to protect everyone’s health, but clarity is missing. I would limit the ASL’s power otherwise, we’ll always face similar situations in the future.’

Serie A Meeting

Following another Serie A meeting on Thursday, the league issued a statement announcing the implementation of a new procedure requiring teams to complete their fixtures if they have 13 fit players born before December 31, 2003.

Players from the first squad and youth team who tested negative at least 24 hours before the game can be selected by the club. If a team fails to show up for a match, the team that does show up wins 3-0, while the team that does not show up loses one point.

When asked what happens if a team has 13 healthy players but is forced to quarantine by a local health authority, the league stated that the policy is simple: a team with 13 players who have tested negative must play or forfeit the match.

After similar incidents against Napoli last season, Juventus was initially granted a 3-0 victory. Napoli, on the other hand, successfully challenged the decision to the Guarantee Board of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), and the match was rescheduled. Later on Thursday, more of the same mayhem is anticipated to unfold.

Salernitana, who has nine players who have tested positive, are set to face Venezia, but their local health authority has imposed a five-day quarantine on the team. Udinese and Torino have also been thrown in exile, with no access to Fiorentina and Atalanta, respectively.

Italy’s sport undersecretary, Valentina Vezzali, said on Thursday that she wants to set up a control center that will allow for “consistent behavior of local health authorities through national coordination so that we can get out of this condition of uncertainty.”

Read: Romelu Lukaku wants to rejoin his former Inter Milan manager, Antonio Conte at Tottenham