Valencia have hit out at Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini after he confessed to attending the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in Spain despite suffering from coronavirus.
In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Gasperini revealed he was sick and scared the day before the game on March 10 but still attended and managed his team from the bench as they claimed a 4-3 win on the night to seal an 8-4 aggregate victory.
While not tested for Covid-19 at the time, tests since have shown the Atalanta manager now has coronavirus antibodies stemming from having had the illness at some point.
The match in Spain was played behind closed doors as the pandemic began spreading across Europe but Gasperini's decision to attend has been questioned by Valencia, who feel he put people's safety at risk.
"Given the statements by Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini, which appeared in the Italian press this Sunday, Valencia CF wishes to publicly express its surprise at the fact that the coach of the opposing team in our UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie recognises that, both the day before and the day of the match played on March 10 in Mestalla he was aware of, at least himself, suffering from symptoms theoretically compatible with those of coronavirus without taking preventive measures, putting at risk, if that had been the case, numerous people during their trip to and stay in Valencia," a club statement read.
"It must be remembered that this game was held behind closed doors, amidst strict measures in this regard, on the orders of the Spanish health authorities to prevent the risk of contagion by Covid-19, precisely due to the presence of persons from an area already publicly classified as 'at risk' at that time."
Though Gasperini didn't test positive for coronavirus before the match in March, his symptoms were extreme and had the Italian concerned for his own health.
"I was scared. The day before the game I was sick, the afternoon of the game worse. The two nights after I slept little," Gasperini told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“If you look at the pictures, I did not look good on the bench. That was March 10. The two nights afterwards, I did not sleep well. I didn’t have a fever, but I felt like I did.
“Every two minutes, an ambulance would go past, as there’s a hospital near the training ground. It sounded like a warzone. At night I would think: 'What will happen to me if I go into that hospital? I can’t go now, I have so much still to do.'
“It was in a way a joke with myself to lighten the mood, but on the other hand, I really did think about that."
Serie A is now due to resume on June 20, with Gasperini's Atalanta sitting fourth in the table.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)