Barcelona against Napoli in the Champions League will be played behind closed doors over coronavirus fears.
The decision for the game on 18 March makes it the fourth last 16 tie to ban supporters, following the decision to play PSG vs Borussia Dortmund, Juventus vs Lyon and Valencia vs Atalanta behind closed doors.
While Chelsea’s trip to Bayern Munich is also set to go behind closed doors.
The call was made by Gerard Figueras, general secretary of sport, following a meeting between the club and Catalan Regional Government.
“It is a decision that has been taken strictly for health reasons,” said Joan Guix, the Health Secretary of the Catalan Regional Government.
A statement from Barcelona read: “The Champions League game to be played on 18 March between FC Barcelona and Napoli will be played behind closed doors at Camp Nou.
“The decision was taken after a meeting on Tuesday morning between FC Barcelona representavtives and those of the Catalan Regional Government (Generalitat de Catalunya). The Club has followed the recommendations of the Generalitat from the meeting which took place in the Department of Health of the regional government.”
Napoli also rejected speculation that they asked for the game to be postponed in a statement.
“Napoli denies that it has asked for the postponement of the Barcelona game,” said the Italian club. “This is fake news. Napoli follows the decision from the Italian government and Uefa.”
Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed a lockdown for the entire country on Monday, with Serie A suspended until at least 3 April. La Liga have taken the decision to play the next two rounds behind closed doors.
Barcelona’s CEO Oscar Grau, director Albert Soler and head of medical services Ramon Canal were all in attendance for the meeting this morning.
The La Liga champions are favourites to advance after Antoine Griezmann’s away goal ensured a 1-1 aggregate score following the first leg in Naples.
Tottenham’s game with RB Leipzig tonight will go ahead with fans in attendance.
