The Champions League Round of 16 second leg between Barcelona and Napoli will be played at the Camp Nou, the Public Health Secretary Josep Maria Argimon has confirmed.
Last week, it emerged that UEFA had approached the Health Department of the Generalitat in Catalonia to seek further assurances of the health of all participants ahead of the tie after a spike in Covid-19 infections in the North-Eastern area of Spain.
The stadiums of both Portuguese clubs Guimaraes and Porto were said to be among those which are claimed to be possible venue alternatives.
The first leg of the clash between the two ended 1-1 all the way back in February in Naples, with the winners taking on either Bayern Munich or Chelsea in the last eight.
The return leg is now scheduled for Saturday (8 August) at the Camp Nou, and comes after Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis called for the tie to be moved to a neutral venue.
“It is able to be played as scheduled,” Argimon told Catalan radio station RAC1, in quotes carried by Diario Sport. “The situation this week is better than it was last week.
“The match can go ahead as it will be behind closed doors and we are following UEFA’s protocols, which are very strict. There will be a limit of 350 people in the stadium.”
The Champions League matches will be held at neutral venues in Germany from the quarter-final stage onwards this year.
