Udinese have announced they will lodge an appeal against the result of their 6-2 defeat to Atalanta, insisting they should’ve been able to postpone the Serie A match due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
The game went ahead on Sunday as planned, despite the Friulani missing 12 players who had tested positive.
The squad had also originally been placed under a quarantine order by the local health authority (ASL) until the Lega Serie A won an appeal to the TAR arbitration tribunal asking for it to be lifted, as it over-reached the latest Government decree on self-isolating for vaccinated close contacts of those who test positive.
This is another test of the Lega Serie A’s insistence on the protocol, which states that as long as a club has 13 players available born after 2003, including at least one goalkeeper, the game must go ahead.
Udinese were furious at being made to play in those conditions, especially as they were then beaten 6-2 on home turf.
A statement from Udinese announced they are preparing an appeal to have the result suspended, as the match was ‘irregular’ due to the circumstances.
Other teams who had been under quarantine orders, such as Torino and Bologna, saw Sunday’s matches postponed.
Torino beat Fiorentina 4-0 today, while Bologna will face Cagliari tomorrow.
Udinese can also argue that the order to break quarantine resulted in further infection and danger to both teams, because it was today announced that one player who featured against Atalanta has now tested positive for COVID-19.
Il comunicato dell’@Udinese_1896 https://t.co/R3Z5FXDV8n
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 10, 2022
Take your lumps, scum.