By Cristiano Ronaldo shot back at Italy’s sports minister on Friday by denying that he broke the coronavirus protocol adopted for the country’s football, after coming back from international duty while positive for the disease. On Thursday, Minister of Sport Vincenzo Spadafora said that Portugal captain Ronaldo had broken protocol after he left isolation together with his |along with his”> together with his club Juventus to hitch up with his national team, then returned to Italy following his positive test. The footballer is currently quarantined at his range in Turin after travelling from Portugal in an air ambulance.
“I never broke the protocol,” Ronaldo said during an interview on Instagram, adding that he travelled after gaining authorisation to try to to so and had avoided contact with people .
“Someone, whose name I’m won’t say, here in Italy … says that I didn’t respect the protocol, that’s simply a lie.”
“I am continuing my quarantine, i’m alone, my family is on another floor, we will not be in touch and it’ll be like that a minimum of for subsequent 10 days.”
Local health authorities within the Piedmont region said that prosecutors had been informed of the departure of Ronaldo and other Juve players to hitch their respective national teams, while the Italian champions were in isolation following two Covid-19 cases among the team’s non-playing staff.
Juventus said on Thursday that Ronaldo, who claims to not have the “slightest symptom”, returned to Italy during a “medical flight authorised by the competent health authorities”.
The entire Juventus team were back in isolation on Wednesday evening after US midfielder Weston McKennie tested positive.
Both McKennie and Ronaldo are in quarantine and must test negative before rejoining their teammates.
Under UEFA rules a player must provide evidence that he’s not sick every week before a eu match.
Ronaldo, who will miss Juve’s Serie A match with Crotone and their Champions League opener against Dynamo Kiev on October 20, must test negative on October 21 to play against Barcelona and old foe Lionel Messi every week later.
