What’s Next For Serie A After CFC Genoa Announced 14 Players Tested Positive To COVID-19

A total of fourteen between team members and staff of Serie A side CFC Genoa have tested positive for COVID-19, the club announced in a statement on Monday.

“Genoa CFC announce that after today’s tests, the number of COVID-19 positive employees has risen to 14 team members and staff,” the club confirmed on their website.

“The club has activated all the procedures according to the protocol and informed the authorities. The club will provide updates as the situation evolves.”

According to Italian soccer newspaper ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’, eleven out of fourteen positive cases are players, while three are members of the staff.

CFC Genoa was supposed to play against FC Torino on Saturday, but the game is now in serious doubt, the report concludes.

The news comes as a shock for Italian soccer, amid fears that the league could be suspended due to a knock-on effect.

Only last Saturday the club from Liguria traveled to Naples to play in San Paolo stadium against SSC Napoli for the second matchday of the Serie A.

The match saw the Partenopei triumph with a convincing 6-0 score, although kick-off was delayed by three hours following the news CFC Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin tested positive for COVID-19 just hours before the game.

The Serie A medical protocol was put in place forcing the whole team to undergo swabs tests before being allowed to travel to Naples.

Following the tests, Danish midfielder Lasse Schone also resulted positive to COVID-19, forcing CFC Genoa head coach Rolando Maran to rule him out of the squad headed to the south of Italy.

According to Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’, SSC Napoli squad will now need to undergo self-isolation until a complete round of tests is carried out.

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The team is expected to travel to Turin next Saturday ahead of the clash against Juventus scheduled for Sunday evening.

Needless to say, a positive case for SCC Napoli could seriously jeopardize the prosecution of the Serie A.

However, should there be one or more COVID-19 positive cases, the medical protocol drafted by FIGC – the Italian Soccer Federation – does not foresee any suspension of the league.

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Drafted last June with the objective of restarting the Serie A after more than 3 months of suspension, the protocol is now drawing some criticism.

Marco Bellinazzo, the sports correspondent for the Italian business newspaper ‘Il Sole 24 Ore’, criticized FIGC and Lega Serie A for their inaction.

“The fact that CFC Genoa traveled to Naples with 14 people between athletes and staff means only one thing: the protocol is ineffective. Let’s see now how many positive cases will Napoli report. Last Sunday match should have been postponed” he tweeted.

The original draft of the medical protocol entailed a whole squad 2-weeks-quarantine if a player tests positive for COVID-19.

However, Serie A clubs and Players’ Association fiercely opposed the mandatory quarantine, claiming it to be excessive and that it would jeopardize the completion of the season.

Should there be an outbreak of SARS-COV-2, however, the FIGC could be forced to reconsider this decision.