Tuttosport are defending Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini, trying to suggest he picked up COVID-19 while in Valencia for a Champions League game on March 10.
The tactician caused huge controversy when he revealed to the Gazzetta dello Sport that he felt unwell the day before the match, then worse that evening and spent the next few days in bed in Bergamo.
He was never tested for COVID-19 because he did not have a fever, but recent blood tests confirmed he had the antibodies.
Tuttosport are defending Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini, trying to suggest he picked up COVID-19 while in Valencia for a Champions League game on March 10.
The tactician caused huge controversy when he revealed to the Gazzetta dello Sport that he felt unwell the day before the match, then worse that evening and spent the next few days in bed in Bergamo.
He was never tested for COVID-19 because he did not have a fever, but recent blood tests confirmed he had the antibodies.
Valencia were furious, demanding a UEFA investigation into why Gasperini had not informed them he had some coronavirus symptoms when he stepped into the Mestalla.
However, Tuttosport have attempted to show that Gasperini could’ve picked up the virus while in Spain for that 4-3 victory on March 10.
Their investigation suggests Valencia can’t be too upset, seeing as there was a large public gathering in the city for Women’s Day on March 8, then Atalanta captain Papu Gomez irritably referred to reporters as ‘clowns’ when they tried to crowd around him at the airport on March 9, snubbing social distancing guidelines.
The Tuttosport timeline points to the fact 10 players and staff tested positive for COVID-19 on March 16, while Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello did not test positive until March 24.
As coronavirus usually takes 5-14 days to develop in the body, therefore it’s likely coronavirus was already very much present in Valencia and not carried over by Atalanta.
There were 1,146 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Valencia on March 11.