Inter could reportedly take action against UEFA after Achraf Hakimi tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Borussia Monchengladbach game, but negative a day later.
The tests were performed by UEFA ahead of their Champions League tie on Wednesday and the result came through just hours before kick-off.
It was a shock to Inter and coach Antonio Conte, as Hakimi had been due to start the match, which eventually ended 2-2.
Inter could reportedly take action against UEFA after Achraf Hakimi tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Borussia Monchengladbach game, but negative a day later.
The tests were performed by UEFA ahead of their Champions League tie on Wednesday and the result came through just hours before kick-off.
It was a shock to Inter and coach Antonio Conte, as Hakimi had been due to start the match, which eventually ended 2-2.
Inter released a statement on Friday pointing out that Hakimi had tested negative, meaning he could in theory be able to play against Genoa in Serie A today.
A blood test will also be conducted, as there are reportedly concerns in the Nerazzurri camp that Hakimi was prevented from playing by UEFA due to a ‘false positive’ test result.
This is not unusual and we already saw an example earlier this month with Stephan El Shaarawy during international duty with Italy.
His swab came back positive, but with a very low viral load, suggesting it could’ve been a ‘false positive’ result.
This was confirmed when another swab was performed the day after, along with a blood test, both showing he was negative for COVID-19.
In order to be confirmed as having COVID-19, a player must register two positive swabs within a couple of days.
The same process is also followed to make sure that someone has fully recovered and is clear of the virus.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter are so angry that they have instructed their lawyers to consider what action can be taken against UEFA for essentially ruling out a crucial player in their competition.
The Gazzetta timeline suggests Hakimi had initially tested negative on Wednesday morning, but after lunch and training, they received a call at 16.10 local time that re-evaluated the results, calling them ‘lightly positive.’