Serie A: Napoli Lost Appeal Over 3-0 Loss To Juventus

Napoli lost their appeal over a 3-0 defeat and one-point deduction for failing to turn up to play Juventus in October on Tuesday.

AllNews reported earlier that Serie A authority ruled a 3-0 defeat in Juventus' favor and 1 point deduction in Napoli's peril as the Naples sit 3 points behind League leaders, AC Milan.

If the appeal were to be granted and the match ruled as outstanding Napoli might be in contention to go top of the league with 2 points instead of 3 and a game at hand.

The Italian Football Federation's appeals board ruled out 'force majeure' as a defense when Napoli refused to travel to Turin for the 4 October game after two of their squad tested positive for COVID-19.

? | Club statement

? https://t.co/hh7KyMeJaC

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— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) November 10, 2020

The appeal court said the decision not to play was "a voluntary choice".

READ ALSO: Serie A: Juventus Given 3-0 Win Over Napoli Due To COVID-19 Violation

Gennaro Gattuso's side maintained they had to remain in Naples on local health authority instructions after Eljif Elmas and Piotr Zielinski tested positive.

Serie A had ruled "the complaint lodged by Napoli regarding the legality of the match is to be considered inadmissible" as the team had not done everything necessary to respect the protocol.

Napoli had requested a postponement, but Juventus continued to prepare for the match as normal with the game eventually abandoned 45 minutes after its scheduled start time.

Italy's top flight are applying UEFA rules that say a match can take place as long as a side have 13 healthy players, including a goalkeeper.

The federation's appeals board also upheld the 3-0 sanction meted out to Roma for fielding an unregistered player in their season-opening goalless draw at Verona.