Madrid (AFP)
The Champions League second knockout round return between FC Barcelona and Naples on Wednesday (March 18th) will be played behind closed doors due to the spread of the new coronavirus, the two clubs announced on Tuesday.
"The Champions League match scheduled for Wednesday, March 18 (at 8:00 p.m. GMT, 9:00 p.m. French) between FC Barcelona and Naples will be played at the Camp Nou behind closed doors," Barça said on Twitter on Tuesday after meeting with the health authorities of Catalonia.
The Catalan club took this decision following the recommendations of the Catalan government, and agreed to play their 8th final Champions League comeback behind closed doors, following a meeting of Barça leaders and medical officials with the authorities Catalan toilets this Tuesday morning.
"It was a decision that was taken strictly for health reasons," said Joan Graux, secretary of Public Health of Catalonia, after the meeting.
Naples, for its part, has "temporarily suspended" the distribution of tickets to attend the match in the visitors park, informed the club of southern Italy via press release a few minutes after the officialization of the news.
According to the Spanish press, the shortfall would amount to around 4.5 million euros for FC Barcelona, which will have to reimburse supporters for the price of tickets bought to attend the match.
The last time that the Camp Nou (99,000 places) had hosted a closed-door meeting dates back to October 1, 2017: the blaugrana club had then decided to play their meeting counting for the 7th day of the Spanish championship against Las Palmas without audience, to protest against clashes between police officers and supporters of a self-determination referendum in Catalonia prohibited by Spanish justice.
© 2020 AFP