Serie A: Juventus drop Paulo Dybala, Weston McKennie and Arthur Melo from Turin derby for breaking COVID-19 protocols

Rome: Paulo Dybala, Weston McKennie and Arthur Melo have been dropped for Juventus’ local derby with Torino after breaking coronavirus rules by attending a dinner party, coach Andrea Pirlo said Friday. “The three players concerned have not been selected, they will return to work at a later time, we’ll see about when,” Pirlo told reporters ahead of Saturday’s Serie A clash. “This sort of stuff has been going on for years, but when you’re not allowed it shouldn’t happen, both because of what’s going on in the world and what’s happening with the team.” Pirlo will also be without defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Merih Demiral for Saturday’s match at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino following positive Covid-19 tests. The dropped trio were reported to have been fined by police who were called by neighbours to the lockdown get-together at US midfielder McKennie’s Turin home on Wednesday night. The three players, who all missed international call-ups with injuries, could also face sanctions from Juve. On Thursday Dybala apologised for the incident, although he said that he had simply “stayed out for dinner” and insisted that the gathering “wasn’t a party”.