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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 14 May 202614 May 2026<\/p>\n
Italian football is facing another embarrassment to add to the country\u2019s failure to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.<\/p>\n
With just three days to go until the start of the penultimate round of Serie A fixtures, Italy\u2019s top-flight league, half the teams do not know when their matches will be played.<\/p>\n
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The Rome derby is at the core of the issue as it was originally slated to kick off at 12:30pm (10:30 GMT) on Sunday, along with four other matches involving teams competing for a Champions League berth.<\/p>\n
Because the race for the final three Champions League spots \u2013 behind newly crowned champion Inter Milan \u2013 is so tight, the games featuring Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, Roma and Como all have to be played simultaneously to ensure fairness.<\/p>\n
However, the Italian Open men\u2019s singles tennis final is scheduled for 5pm (15:00 GMT) at Rome\u2019s Foro Italico, in the same complex as the Stadio Olimpico and, because of fears of public safety, local authorities have ordered the derby to be moved to Monday evening.<\/p>\n
Because of the disruption that would cause to thousands of fans of the 10 teams involved, the Lega Serie A proposed an alternative: kicking off at 12pm (10:00 GMT) and pushing back the start of the tennis to 5:30pm (15:30 GMT).<\/p>\n
That was rejected by Roman authorities, and so the Italian league\u2019s governing body lodged a formal appeal with the Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri was asked about the matter on Wednesday, after his team\u2019s loss to Inter in the Italian Cup final, and he blamed the Lega Serie A, adding that he would not even turn up at the stadium if the derby was played on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have thought of this overlap, but at the time, elements such as five matches simultaneously and Lazio\u2019s Italian Cup final were missing,\u201d Lega Serie A President Ezio Simonelli said. \u201cIt certainly won\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of a sense of responsibility also towards the 300,000 fans involved, we proposed a solution, and I assure you that bringing forward a match by half an hour is not a usual thing. We are asking the players and teams to make a sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five points separate Napoli, in second, and sixth-place Como. Napoli is on 70 points, Juventus 68, Milan and Roma 67 and Como 65.<\/p>\n
They are all playing against teams with little to play for but pride, with Napoli visiting already relegated Pisa, while Juventus, Milan and Como play Fiorentina, Genoa and Parma respectively \u2014 with those three sides already safe from relegation.<\/p>\n
Lazio is out of the race for the European spots.<\/p>\n
At the other end of the table, Lecce \u2013 which occupies the last position of safety \u2013 is one point above 18th-place Cremonese and visits Sassuolo. Cremonese travels to Udinese.<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s national team became the first former winners to miss out on qualification for three consecutive World Cup finals when they were eliminated by Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/a> in a playoff on March 31.<\/p>\n