Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has raised concerns about his club traveling to face Barcelona in the Champions League in a recent spike in coronavirus cases in Spain.
“I feel a lot of perplexity and fear that come from Spain and are acting as if nothing was wrong,” said De Laurentiis. “What does it take to say: ‘Don’t go to Barcelona, but rather go to Portugal, Germany or Geneva?”‘
The Barcelona-Naples match is scheduled for 8 August. The first leg of the round-of-16 match ended 1-1 in Naples in February. The winner will move on to the quarterfinals in Lisbon, Portugal. The second stop was originally scheduled for March 18 before being postponed following the coronavirus block.
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“If they have decided to play in the Champions League in Portugal and in the Europa League in Germany, I think we can go to Portugal or Germany for round 16,” said De Laurentiis. “I don’t understand why he should stay in a city that has a really critical situation.”
Players from the Spanish clubs Sevilla, Real Madrid and Zaragoza have recently shown positive results for COVID-19.
Real Madrid will play Manchester City on 7 August in the Champions League, while Sevilla will face Roma in the Europa League next Thursday in Duisburg, Germany.
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