Juventus President Andrea Agnelli has encouraged the clubs to “follow” the authorities lead and revealed he discussed the situation with Inter patron Steven Zhang.
Juventus-Inter was postponed last weekend amid fear of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, but the aftermath has been controversial and full of chaos.
The Old Lady chief has now claimed that his team was prepared to follow orders from the start.
Juventus President Andrea Agnelli has encouraged the clubs to “follow” the authorities lead and revealed he discussed the situation with Inter patron Steven Zhang.
Juventus-Inter was postponed last weekend amid fear of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, but the aftermath has been controversial and full of chaos.
The Old Lady chief has now claimed that his team was prepared to follow orders from the start.
“Our position was clear from the start”, he said at the FT Business of Football Summit. “We had to be sure that it was the scientific community that told us what could be done or not.
“Then it’s the sporting authorities that work with what the government has imposed.”
He pointed out that he has “great respect” for Inter President Steven Zhang and claimed they must not be driven by the “economic effects” of the current situation.
“The economic effects of the actions must be overshadowed,” he said. “I know that Steven Zhang has a similar position to me.
“I have great respect for Steven, we discussed the epidemic a couple of weeks ago when he came to my house for dinner.
“We discussed the seriousness of the situation. It shouldn’t be the clubs that decide what should be done or not, the authorities have made it clear, and it’s our responsibility to follow what they have told us.”