Napoli want Champions League clash with Barcelona moved to Portugal after Catalonia coronavirus case spike

NAPOLI president Aurelio De Laurentiis wants his team’s Champions League game against Barcelona moved to Portugal because of a coronavirus spike in Catalonia. The teams are set to play their last-16 second leg tie at the Nou Camp on August 8 but the Napoli big-wig wants a change of plan. The first leg was a […]

NAPOLI president Aurelio De Laurentiis wants his team’s Champions League game against Barcelona moved to Portugal because of a coronavirus spike in Catalonia.

The teams are set to play their last-16 second leg tie at the Nou Camp on August 8 but the Napoli big-wig wants a change of plan.

AFP

The first leg was a 1-1 draw in Naples in February.

But the second leg which was originally scheduled for March 18 was postponed because of coronavirus.

And now the pandemic is causing problems again with a recent spike in the number of daily confirmed cases in Catalonia.

The Champions League quarter-finals are already set to take place in Portugal and De Laurentiis wants to know why those plans don’t apply to the last-16.

He said: “I hear a lot of perplexity and fear coming from Spain and they’re acting like nothing is wrong.

“What does it take to say, ‘Don’t go to Barcelona but rather go to Portugal, Germany or Geneva? 

“If they’ve decided to play the Champions League in Portugal and the Europa League in Germany, I think we can go to Portugal or Germany for the round of 16.

“I don’t understand why it should stay in a city that has a really critical situation.”

The winner of the tie will face Bayern Munich or Chelsea on the quarter-final with the Blues 3-0 down from the first leg.