The controversy over celebrations for Italy’s UEFA EURO 2020 victory continue, with local authorities in Rome blaming FIGC President Gabriele Gravina for a rise in COVID-19 cases.
The tournament came to a close in London at Wembley Stadium 10 days ago, Italy beating England on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
The team flew back with the trophy and managed to organise an open-top bus ride through the city streets, much to the irritation of the local authorities, who insisted they had not given the all-clear for this amid security concerns.
That controversy is dragging on with the comments from the assessor for health in the Lazio Region, Alessio D’Amato.
“We are paying the price for the so-called ‘Gravina Effect,’ but fortunately without complications in the hospitals,” he said after 681 new cases in the region over the last 24 hours, and one death.
“We’re bound to see more cases as a result of the loss of focus around the European Championship celebrations, and that trend will continue for a few more days.
“Most of the new positive cases are young people who are not yet vaccinated, so that shows once again the importance of vaccination.”
Calling this the ‘Gravina Effect’ pins the blame for the surge in Coronavirus cases on the President of the Italian Football Federation.
It’s difficult to see how the open-top bus could be pin-pointed as more of a cause for the surge in cases than the wild celebrations in the streets the night of the Final.