Coronavirus has handed UEFA another headache as the virus could force Roma to forfeit the competition. Traveling embargoes have been set to contain the spread in Europe and this has now affected the Serie A giants as they have been prohibited from traveling to Sevilla for their last 16 showdown.
The Giallorossi announced that they were not allowed permission to land in Spain. Given that Italy is the worst affected country in Europe, the government had issued a lockdown to battle the epidemic and this resulted in the club being unable to make the trip to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Breaking news: #ASRoma will not travel to Spain for the @EuropaLeague match against @SevillaFC_ENG after the plane from Italy was not authorised to land in Spain. More details from UEFA soon. pic.twitter.com/vnVmJLkeRC
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 11, 2020
Roma announced this via Twitter, revealing that the team had boarded their Wednesday flight but it wasn’t authorized to land in Spain. The club and the fans await an update from UEFA on what’s next.
According to Corriere dello Sport, European football’s governing body could not find a solution alongside the Spanish and Italian football federations. Furthermore, this is not the only concern facing the Europa League.
Getafe president Angel Torres recently confirmed that his team would not travel to Milan, one of the continent’s hardest-hit cities, for their clash with Inter. He later added "if we have to lose the tie, so be it.”
Additionally, Napoli are set to face Barcelona in the Champions League, another European game involving an Italian club traveling to Spain. Whether Gattuso’s side will meet the same fate as Roma remains unknown. This clash was initially scheduled to be played behind closed doors but that could change.
