Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has bemoaned the lack of clarity surrounding Inter’s match against Bologna that is set to not be played today, according to a report in the Italian broadcast media.
Speaking ahead of the match to Sky Sport, via FCInternews, the CEO explained that he intends to talk with the Ministry of Sport to understand the decisions being taken.
“There is no clarity, no guidelines, the aim is to have a discussion with the Ministry of Sport to ensure that there is a clear decision. The championship is certainly affected.”
Beppe Marotta also explained that the entire scenario is now very confusing for the clubs involved and mentioned that teams that are being made to travel to games with multiple Covid-19 cases.
“The goal is to protect the health of everyone, citizens and members. A Lega Council has just concluded, we have drawn up a new protocol and there will be a press release shortly.
“We are in a scenario of confusion with the postponements, with the positions taken by ASL. We are witnessing unusual things like Hellas Verona going to La Spezia with ten positive cases, while other teams have been stopped from travelling with less positive cases.”
When asked whether Inter would be handed a 3-0 victory by the authorities, Beppe Marotta explained that he does not have the evidence to discuss that yet but reiterated the confusion being caused.
“We do not have the information to draw up an evaluation, we acknowledge that Bologna has suffered despite being ready to play.
“I repeat that there is a lack of clarity between sport and the ministry of health, both organizations have to decide on the competence of the ASL, otherwise situations such as Spezia-Verona and Bologna-Inter will repeat themselves. I hope the third dose will become mandatory so the damage can be reduced.
“In sport, the third vaccine must be mandatory, then I would feel calm about the risks, as the doctors say. Quarantines should no longer be imposed and the championship would be more fluid.”
When asked if the league should have just postponed the next two matchdays, Beppe Marotta admitted that the Omicron variant caught many people by surprise.
“This fourth wave has taken us off guard, in society and also in sport. Some leagues have postponed games, others have not. Certainly, the postponement would have allowed more fluid management.
“Then, however, there is the compression of the calendar where we are forced to play all the games before May. Today we are facing a cause of force majeure and we have to think, but there was also the suddenness of the increase in positive cases.
“Certainly a bit of self-criticism needs to be done, but this fourth wave overwhelmed us quickly. We were not prepared, then the players had to be given leave by regulation during the Christmas period. This emergency situation meant we were unprepared.”
