Having an international break in the current situation where Covid-19 infections are increasing is nothing short of madness, but it also looks like players are being put in an impossible club vs country position too.
Football-Italia reported on some of the happenings at Juventus last week as they had a farcical fixture vs Napoli where their opponents didn’t turn up, and it looks like Cristiano Ronaldo had to lead a revolt.
They quote La Gazzetta dello Sport in saying that the club had set up a bubble at the hotel next to their training centre, but it left some players in a situation where they would miss their international games if they stayed.
Cristiano Ronaldo is said to be the player who led the revolt and he was furious and started shouting in front of the club directors, before going home to stay with his family to ensure he could join up with the Portugal squad.
That led to several teammates doing the same thing, so it will be interesting to see if there’s any fall out from this.
The report confirms that the players had already returned two negative tests but they were still required to stay within the bubble for days and have one more negative result before being allowed to leave, but they decided to ignore the protocol and leave.
It further demonstrates why the international break is ridiculous and it’s only going to lead to more situations like this, while it does make you wonder if Ronaldo will face any action from the club or the authorities.