Barcelona’s last 16 second-leg meeting with Napoli in the Champions League will be played behind closed doors, the Spanish club have confirmed on Tuesday.
In a bid to contain the coronavirus outbreak in Spain, no supporters from either club will be allowed entry into Camp Nou for the European clash on March 18.
Barcelona officials attended an emergency meeting with the Spanish health and sports ministries, and Catalan public health body on Tuesday, and came to a unanimous decision regarding a proposed shut-out of fans for the fixture.
Quique Setien’s men were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Stadio San Paolo last month, and will not have the benefit of home support when they attempt to reach the quarter-finals of the competition next week.
It had been reported that Napoli were attempting to get the return fixture postponed altogether, but the club have insisted that the “story is fake news” in a post on social media.
The club’s official statement reads:
“Napoli denies reports claiming that the club has asked for the match against Barcelona to be postponed. The story is fake news.
“We support the decisions of the Italian government and of UEFA.”
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