Following the sudden postponement of the Italian Division 1 semifinal game between the Milano Seamen and Lazio Ducks this past weekend due to a case of COVID-19 being discovered on the Lazio team game day, the Italian Federation of American Football, FIDAF (Federazione Italiana di American Football), has moved the game to Tuesday, July 13.
The Italian championship final game will still be played July 17.
The federation cites Article 12 of the Championship Dispute Rules which is invoked in case of postponement of an official game due to force majeure: “…in the absence of other useful dates, the match must be rescheduled midweek on Wednesday, unless otherwise agreed upon between the teams “.
With the Italian Championship final set for Saturday, July 17, and with the mandatory quarantine period for the Ducks ending on Monday, July 12, the first possible date to play the game is Tuesday, July 13.
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, July 3, but one of the players on the Lazio team became sick in the team’s hotel in Milano on the morning of July 3 and then tested positive for the virus, despite having tested negative two days previously.
The entire team traveled back to Rome where they have been quarantined and will remain quarantined until July 12. Naturally, during the quarantine period, the team is unable to practice, so it was up to the players to decide whether to play or forfeit and they voted to play on July 13, even without practicing.
Of course, the situation means that the winner of this game will have to play the championship game three days later and will be facing a well-rested Parma Panthers team in the final who won their semifinal game against the Firenze Guelfi, defeating them 55-20.
Details on the field and times for the semifinal game will follow.