Italian football is facing yet another embarrassment, just months after the national team failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. With only three days until the penultimate round of Serie A fixtures, half of the clubs do not know when their matches will be played.
The core issue is the Rome derby between Lazio and Roma, originally scheduled for Sunday at 12:30 PM local time. Because the race for the final three Champions League spots is extremely tight, five matches involving Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, Roma, and Como must be played simultaneously to ensure fairness.
However, the Italian Open men's singles tennis final is set for 5 PM at Rome's Foro Italico, in the same complex as the Stadio Olimpico. Citing public safety concerns, local authorities ordered the derby to be moved to Monday evening.
The Lega Serie A proposed an alternative: kick off at 12 PM and delay the tennis final to 5:30 PM. But Roman authorities rejected this, prompting the league's governing body to file a formal appeal with the Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) on Wednesday night.
Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri, speaking after his team's loss in the Italian Cup final, blamed the Lega Serie A and said he would not even show up if the derby is played on Sunday.
Lega Serie A President Ezio Simonelli stated: "We could have foreseen this overlap, but at the time, elements such as five simultaneous matches and Lazio's Italian Cup final were missing. It certainly won't happen again. Out of a sense of responsibility towards the 300,000 fans involved, we proposed a solution. Moving a match by half an hour is not usual; we are asking players and teams to make a sacrifice."
Just five points separate second-placed Napoli (70 points) from sixth-placed Como (65 points). Juventus has 68, Milan and Roma 67. They all face teams with little to play for: Napoli visits already-relegated Pisa, while Juventus, Milan, and Como play Fiorentina, Genoa, and Parma respectively—all safe from relegation.
Lazio is out of the European race. At the bottom, Lecce, in the last safe spot, is one point above 18th-placed Cremonese.
Italy's national team became the first former World Cup winner to miss three consecutive tournaments after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a playoff on March 31. The defeat has sparked calls for widespread reform in Italian football.
Source: www.aljazeera.com