No football on the edge of war, no unnecessary risks for the players to take. Aurelio De Laurentiis, with a polemical tone, closes the doors to Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia scheduled for the end of January. The escalation of violence that has erupted along the Gaza Strip, is pushing the patron of the Napoli to enter forcefully into the decision just taken by Alloy di Serie A which had postponed the date last Monday.
“Have you seen what is happening in Israel?
Could you imagine there being an air blockade on those territories? Did you realize that with four planes we bring in a whopping 120 players who are worth what they are worth?
But you're idiots. All this to earn a few more million?
Let's do it at the Olimpico, why do we have to go and bother there? It's not that I want to boycott: I just said 'think about it'”, is the jab at the Confindustria del calcio by ADL, guest at the round table organized by 'Inpiù' at the Luiss University in Rome.
A 'no' dictated therefore by the increasingly dramatic war chronicles but which also seem to be linked to the constant tug of war that ADL has with the top brass of football. The game will be played from 21 to 25 January with the new formula that includes four participants (Napoli, Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina, or the top two of Serie A from last season and the finalists of the Coppa Italia) but De Laurentiis and the president of the Viola himself, Rocco Commisso, have expressed their doubts especially because of the change of date, historically scheduled for Epiphany.
The League seems to want to move forward by claiming to have the replacements, that is Milan e Atalanta, but the issue risks becoming more complicated given that there could also be an obstructionist action by the Italian champions. The postponement has in fact created new cracks within the 20 Serie A clubs, which have always been divided, but are now more than ever split in two with the front led by De Laurentiis and Commisso. And the Super Cup risks also being the pretext to publicly reveal their discontent.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to