It turns out that the effect of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic that so seriously interrupted the last season of Serie A, the main Italian football league, is far from over.
On Thursday, SSC Napoli president and owner Aurelio De Laurentiis took the COVID-19 test showed the club on Thursday.
“SSC Napoli announces that President Aurelio De Laurentiis tested positive for Covid-19 after yesterday’s sample,” reads in a summary on the official Website of Naples.
The news surprised Italian football, not only because De Laurentiis is the first Serie A president to test positive for COVID-19, but also because he came here after attending a Serie A assembly on Wednesday that included representatives of all 20 Serie A clubs.
The assembly held in Milan and the first assembly of the league planned in person, after months of virtual talks due to the closure.
As a result, the news raised fears of a ‘domino effect’, forcing everyone who attended to go through tests and potentially isolate themselves, jeopardizing the start of the new Serie A season, which is expected to begin in just one week. . .
In addition, De Laurentiis’ habit became mild when the Italian newspaper La Repubblica claimed that the president of Naples had already shown symptoms of the virus before the meeting, but that he had not left independently and without warning.
De Laurentiis allegedly endangered him unnecessarily, attributing his symptoms to “an allergic reaction to bad oysters,” the newspaper reports.
According to Corriere della Sera, De Laurentiis and his wife Jacqueline felt after visiting their holiday home on the island of Capri.
They were tested for COVID-19 and were still waiting for effect when the 71-year-old president attended the Serie A assembly on Wednesday, according to the newspaper.
In addition, several photographs on social media showed De Laurentiis talking to hounds after the assembly without dressing in a mask or maintaining social distance.
The Lega Serie A announced Thursday night that President Paolo Dal Pino had to isolate himself after speaking to De Laurentiis.
“When [De Laurentiis] arrived he had no fever, and the same goes for him after the temperature was checked at Milan airport. Then at 8 p. m. he called saying he had a fever and had tested positive. When he told me, I regretted it a lot and activated all the procedures according to protocol,” Dal Pino told Radio Capital.
There were also considerations for Oreste Vigorito, president of the newly promoted Benevento, flew back to Campania on a plane with De Laurentiis.
After receiving news from De Laurentiis, Vipassrito made the decision to move on to voluntary isolation and announced that he would review COVID-19 on Friday morning, he said on Benevento’s website.
According to Sky Sports Italy, De Laurentiis recently suffered from pneumonia and is a component of the organisation of age at risk.
The media reports that the president’s entourage is admitted to a hospital in Rome as a precautionary measure.
However, several media outlets have ruled out that the news has an impact on the team, as players have had no contact with De Laurentiis since Friday, September 4.
Napoli must begin the new Serie A season at Parma on 20 September.
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