This preview is entirely in vain, and as of this writing (14 hours until match time) everyone’s favorite soccer site Sofascore.com has declared the match cancelled. Not postponed, but cancelled. Perhaps quibbling between postponed and cancelled is semantics, but it does add a bit of uncertainty as to how Serie A will handle Atalanta’s match with Torino.
For those that are catching up on all the facts: Torino has had a slew of positive COVID tests within its ranks, Turin’s Local Health Agency is not permitting Torino to travel to Bergamo, as far as we know Atalanta will show up on Thursday without an opponent to face – the outcome of the match decidedly in limbo.
Serie A is not one to shy away from theatrics and drama, and the league is setting itself up for another debacle.
If everything goes as planned, all Atalanta has to do is show up at the Gewiss on Thursday afternoon, twiddle its thumbs for an hour, and then the referees will declare the match postponed – awarding Atalanta a 3-0 victory. But the rulebook is, let’s just say, more of a guideline. Everyone remembers the dramatics that ensued when Napoli was not able to travel to Juventus in October 2020 for a similar COVID outbreak. The league seemed steadfast that Napoli would have no opportunity to play the match at a later date, but sanity eventually took over. Napoli, half a year later, took the field in Turin – a sane decision, even if Napoli ultimately lost the fixture.
With precedence already on Serie A’s side, a desire to play every match this week is an odd stance for the league to steadfastly take. There are still plenty of open midweek slots on Atalanta’s calendar (although that may change depending on Atalanta’ success in the Europa League and Coppa Italia). Nonetheless between April 3rd and May 22nd there are seven open midweek slots the league could moved postponed matches to. And even if some of these slots become occupied due to Atalanta’s success outside of Serie A, extending the calendar one or two more weeks beyond May 22 is not the worst thing in the world. With no European tournaments this summer, players will still be awarded a much needed summer break. And if more matches do get postponed beyond the upcoming Torino and Udinese fixtures, Atalanta and the rest of the footballing world will have a bigger problem on its hands then rescheduling a one or two fixtures.
Ultimately, stealing points away from an opponent that would essentially be forced to break the law in order to field a team on Thursday is just a drab outcome, and puts a damper on the season. Let’s all hope that a) everyone get’s healthy, b) the League comes to its senses and makes a small and seemingly logical schedule adjustment. Not everything has to be black and white with either no action or making a monumental decision. Hopefully saner heads prevail before Thursday, yet nonetheless, as always Forza Dea!
