When Lazio players filed onto the pitch of their home stadium Stadio Olimpico in Rome and did a pre-game warm-up, you'd be forgiven for thinking everything was running smoothly.  

About an hour before kickoff, the Italian giants posted the starting lineup against Torino via their official Twitter account. The stage was perfectly set for the opening fixture of Serie A's midweek action, which was supposed to kick off at 5:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday. 

What could possibly go wrong?

In reality, however, as Lazio showed up at the stadium, Torino were still back home in Turin, 430 miles away, waiting restlessly for a game that wasn't going to happen. With eight players and two staff members testing positive for COVID-19 in the latest screening, the health authority in Turin had prohibited Torino from traveling to Rome.

Torino already saw their clash with Sassuolo postponed on Friday due to the outbreak, and they failed to persuade Serie A's governing body that Tuesday's game ought to be delayed too. 

Under Serie A rules, a no-show resulted in Torino being handed a 3-0 defeat and Torino President Urbano Cairo was incandescent at the way they've been treated.  

"You cannot defend the league and its integrity by ignoring objective reality, a reality that says we cannot move, nor leave the city," Cairo told LaPresse news agency. "It's all so logical that one plus one is two, instead here in order to reach two, they are going through a thousand steps." 

"The only logical consequence was to postpone the match. Now we await the decision of the sporting justice system. Obviously, we will seek every possible avenue to appeal," he fumed. 

Under mounting pressure, Lazio director Igli Tarem insisted that their club just followed the rules by being awarded a 3-0 win through a forfeit. 

"We respected the rules, we came to the stadium, we'll stay for 45 minutes and then leave it all to the authorities," he told Sky Sport. "It might've been convenient for us too not to play, but the league has to be respected, the situation was decided a long time before this and as far as we are concerned, we're just following the rules." 

When asked about Torino's difficult situation amid the ongoing pandemic, Tarem said, "There might be many points of view, but it's the authorities that have the power to make those evaluations and decisions." 

"I don't want to create any controversy. We know how things are going and what is being said. The only thing that matters is that we are here. As for the rest, those who will decide can decide," he added. 

It was not the first time that such chaotic scenes played out in Serie A. Juventus were awarded a controversial 3-0 win over Napoli back in October under similar circumstances, with Naples health authorities refusing to permit Napoli to travel due to a coronavirus outbreak.

In Brazil, football legend Pele took to social media to announce that he received a COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.

According to China Media Group (CMG), the three-time World Cup champion received China's Sinovac vaccine at his home in Guaruja, a coastal town near Sao Paulo.  

"Today is an unforgettable day – I received the vaccine!," Pele said on Instagram. "The pandemic is not over yet. We must keep discipline to preserve lives until many people have taken the vaccine." 

"When you go out please don't forget your mask and maintain social distance. This will pass if we can think of others and help each other," the 80-year-old added. 

Elsewhere, Colombian Sports Minister Ernesto Lucena confirmed that the country would allow some selected spectators to enter stadiums to watch the 2021 Copa America. 

"We are already working on the sanitary protocol to have a capacity of about 30 percent," he told Caracol Radio on Tuesday. "A Copa America without an audience would make no sense." 

The showpiece tournament, which was postponed to this year due to the pandemic, will be played from June 11 to July 10 in Colombia and Argentina. 

Meanwhile, World Rugby announced on Tuesday that the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand will be postponed until next year.

"In recent weeks, through discussions with our key partners in New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand government, it's become clear that we do not have the level of certainty we need to collectively deliver the best environment for all teams," World Rugby interim chief executive Alan Gilpin said in a statement. 

"We all wanted the tournament to go ahead as planned this year, but we also accept that the current COVID-19 constrained circumstances are not ideal for high performance athletes in a tournament situation," New Zealand Sport Minister Grant Robertson added.