Serie A: Napoli Won Appeal As Juventus Loses 6 Points In 24 Hours

Napoli won their appeal on Tuesday after being handed a 3-0 defeat and a one-point deduction for failing to turn up to play Juventus because of coronavirus cases.

AllNews reported earlier that the appeal to the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) was rejected but it seems Napoli was not satisfied and took the case to a higher authority which is the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI)

CONI said in a statement they "accepted the appeal presented by Napoli and annulled without postponement the decision of the Sports Court of Appeal at the FIGC...including the penalty of losing the match and the deduction of one point."

The 4 October fixture had been abandoned rather than called off when Napoli did not travel to Turin.

"We're happy," Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said on Twitter of the decision.

"We live in a country where those who respect the laws cannot be convicted. And Napoli always follows the rules."

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

The restoration of a point moves Napoli up to third in the standings ahead of Juventus, who have lost three points, on goal difference.

Juventus lost against Fiorentina on Tuesday which the defending Champions have lost 6 points in less than 24 hours.

The decision to annul the result means both clubs have a game in hand on the teams above them. They are both seven points behind leader AC Milan.

Italian media report that the match at Juve's Allianz Stadium will be rescheduled for 13 January.

The original match in October was to be played just days after Napoli had faced Genoa, who subsequently recorded over a dozen COVID-19 cases in their squad.

Napoli argued that they were ordered not to travel by the local health authority after two players, Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas, tested positive for COVID-19.

The club requested a postponement, but Juventus continued to prepare as normal. The game was officially abandoned 45 minutes after its scheduled kick-off.

The Serie A disciplinary commission ruled there had been no "force majeure" preventing Napoli from traveling despite the positive cases and the team being in isolation.

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

The only possible exemption would be a club that has an active outbreak of Covid-19 with more than 10 new positive cases in a week.

In that case, the club can request a postponement, but only once in the season, which was the case of Genoa's game against Torino the same weekend.