Tammy Abraham, Jadon Sancho Breach Covid-19 Protocol at Party, Juventus vs Napoli Abandoned Amid Covid Uncertainty and More (Football Round-Up)

Chelsea FC striker Tammy Abraham apologised after he and England teammates Ben Chulwell and Jadon Sancho flouted coronavirus protocols attending a houseparty in London over the weekend.

The matter came to light after the tabloid, The Sun, published a video that showed the trio at a gathering with more than six people on Saturday. 

As per the report, the FA saw the footage. It quotes a spokesperson who confirmed that "there will be no change to the England team at this stage." 

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The England squad is scheduled to play a friendly against Wales on Thursday and Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark after.

According to the report, the party was organised for Abraham’s 23rd birthday. However, he issued an apology and said, "I arrived home to find a small surprise gathering. Though I was totally unaware this was planned, I would like to wholeheartedly apologise for the naivety shown for the organisation and attending of this gathering.”

"All I can do now is learn from it, apologise to everyone and ensure it never happens again," he added. 

Juventus vs Napoli Scrapped  

In farcical scenes Juventus’ Serie A game against Napoli was abandoned on Sunday as Napoli failed to turn up to play in Turin, after Covid-19 protocols in Naples meant they couldn’t travel out and were ordered to stay home by local authorities. 

The problems started after Napoli’s previous fixture against Genoa, after which a sudden burst of cases was discovered in Genoa’s squad — 17 at last count. Napoli themselves found two players to have tested Covid-19 positive. As a consequence Napoli was put into quarantine and as the area has seen a rise in cases, were ordered to not travel out.

A spokesperson for Napoli told Reuters hours before the match that the team is under isolation after the health authority (ASL) ordered them to and further added that they would challenge any decision to forfeit the game. 

Juventus had been informed that Napoli wouldn’t travel — both club presidents had communicated — but to avoid any legal problems from their end, announced the line up on social media, submitted the team sheet and landed up at the ground for the game. 45 minutes after it was originally scheduled to begin, the match was called off — officially described as ‘not played’ on the Serie A website. As per Serie A rules, it is very likely that Juventus will be handed a 3-0 win although the matter will definitely go to court and a long trial is due.

Canales Gets Spain Call Up

Spanish Midfielder Sergio Canales left his home club Racing Santander to join Real Madrid a decade ago and after struggling for game time under Jose Mourinho was sent off on loan to Valencia in the hope that he would earn a place at Euro 2012.

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He thrived at the Mestalla but due to a ligament injury had to change his style of play. Multiple club transfers later, landed up at Real Betis to play under Manuel Pellegrini — the man who took Canales to Madrid but never got the chance to manage him. Canales has thrived under Pellegrini and after a decade in the wilderness earned a Spain call up again. He scored a goal in Betis’ 2-0 victory over Valencia over the weekend.

He has been included in the squad for a friendly against Portugal set to kick off on October 7 along. Spain will also play two Nations League matches against Switzerland on October 10 and in Ukraine on October 13. 

Indian Football Restart

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) have initiated steps to restart the game, its president Praful Patel said while revealing the federation’s new motto – ‘Indian Football. Forward Together’. The Indian Super League (ISL) is likely to be the first sporting competition to start in the country on October 20, in Goa.

“The entire country is going through a period of lull especially when it comes to sport. AIFF has already taken the first step to bring back sporting activities in the country and it is only becoming possible because all the stakeholders are working seamlessly and tirelessly in this direction,” Patel said in a media release by AIFF. 

“With the new motto in place, our objective is to streamline these efforts in our communication with all the stakeholders. Even the smallest unit in the chain plays an important role,” the former Union Minister said. However, no mention of the measures that will be put in place to ensure the motto is put into prcactice have been elaborated on.

AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das said the federation is committed to develop the game in the country. “We have been doing an immaculate amount of work starting from developing grassroots to the national teams. Slowly but gradually, by working together, I am sure we will be able to achieve great things while establishing a pipeline of young talent for the Indian football team,” he said.

Shakhtar Players Test Positive

Six Shakhtar Donetsk players tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss Ukraine's friendly match against France on Wednesday, Ukraine's football association said.

Shakhtar reported their goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov and midfielder Taras Stepanenko, who were a part of the squad to play France, had tested positive for coronavirus.

"All Shakhtar representatives are going to self-isolate," the club said in a statement, The statement further said all the staff and the  players will go through a coronavirus test after four days.

Four Shakhtar players, who are a part of the national squad — Mykola Matviyenko, Viktor Kovalenko, Marlos and Junior Moraes — will also miss the match, Ukraine's FA said.

The FA scheduled additional tests on Monday and Thursday to confirm whether the six would make a comeback in the national team for Nations League action. Ukraine will host Germany on October 10 and Spain on October 13. Both games will be played in Kiev.

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