"With just three days to go until the start of the penultimate round of Serie A fixtures, Italy's top-flight league, half the teams do not know when their matches will be played."
"Because the race for the final three Champions League spots behind newly crowned champion Inter Milan is so tight, the games featuring Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, Roma and Como all have to be played simultaneously to ensure fairness. However, the Italian Open men's singles tennis final is scheduled for 5pm (15:00 GMT) at Rome's 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."
"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). That was rejected by Roman authorities, and so the Italian league's governing body lodged a formal appeal with the Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) on Wednesday night."
"Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri was asked about the matter on Wednesday, after his team's 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."
Italy’s Serie A schedule is disrupted with only three days before the penultimate round, leaving half the teams uncertain about when their matches will be played. The Rome derby was originally set for Sunday at 12:30pm alongside four other Champions League race matches involving Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, Roma, and Como. The Italian Open men’s singles final is scheduled for 5pm at Foro Italico, the same complex as Stadio Olimpico, prompting authorities to move the derby to Monday evening for public safety. Lega Serie A proposed shifting the derby to 12pm and delaying tennis to 5:30pm, but Roman authorities rejected it. Lega Serie A appealed to the Regional Administrative Tribunal, while Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri blamed the league and said he would not attend if the derby remained on Sunday.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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