MILAN (AP) – Naples President Aurelio De Laurentiis expressed fear on Thursday that his club will face Barcelona in the Champions League amid an increase in coronavirus cases in Spain.
“I hear a lot of bewilderment coming from Spain and they act like nothing happened,” De Laurentiis said. “What does it take to say, “Don’t go to Barcelona yet, go to Portugal, Germany or Geneva?”
The Barcelona-Napoli setting is scheduled for August 8. The first leg of the 16th match ended 1–1 in Naples in February. The winner will qualify for the quarter-finals in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Barcelona-Naples setting was originally scheduled for March 18 before being postponed amid the coronavirus blockade.
“If you’ve made the decision to play the Champions League in Portugal and the Europa League in Germany, I think we can move on to Portugal or Germany for the 16th circular,” de Laurentiis said. “I don’t understand why you deserve to stay in a town where the scenario is critical.”
Players from Spanish clubs Sevilla, Real Madrid and Zaragoza have recently tried COVID-19.
Madrid plays Manchester City on 7 August in the Champions League, while Sevilla face Roma in the Europa League next Thursday in Duisburg, Germany.
Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said Thursday that 60% of spain’s recent accumulation of infections occurred in the northeastern regions of Catalonia, whose largest city is Barcelona, and neighboring Aragon.
“The epidemic (in Barcelona) is a fear of population density,” Illa said. ” (But) what is in Spain is in all the other countries of our region. It’s a pandemic. We are on alert and acting appropriately. Most epidemics in Spain are under control.”
When UEFA announced three weeks ago that the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the Champions League would be played with elimination matches in Lisbon, it also announced a plan B for the 16-quarter-final, saying they could also be transferred to Portugal.
The indexed stadiums for UEFA’s reserve plan are Est-dio do Drago in Porto and Est-dio Dom Afonso Henriques in Guimares.
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