Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis spoke with his usual energy and candor during a Senate hearing, addressing several critical issues in the management of Italian football, from the format of the championships to financial problems and violence in stadiums. De Laurentiis denounced the complicity of past governments with violent fans, underlining the need for decisive intervention to "clean up" the stadiums. “In England, hooligans have been banned.
In our country, however, the fans influence and dictate the laws, making the stadiums less accessible. When I raised the issue with politicians, I was told that they cannot govern the fans because they represent votes.
This is very serious, it means allowing crime in stadiums, which fans consider to be free territory.”
The president of Napoli criticized the widespread idea among politicians that the government should not intervene economically in football. “We are not asking for money, but for legislative changes that will allow our sector to recover economic and financial energy,” said De Laurentiis. De Laurentiis then spoke about the need to reduce the number of teams in the Serie A championships. “We allowed total chaos by going from 1986 teams to 16 and then to 18 in 20.
The games increase and the players wear out. Football institutions benefit financially at the expense of our investments.
The Serie A League will never have the strength to reduce the number of teams, the government must intervene.”
Finally, De Laurentiis addressed the issue of debts accumulated by Italian football clubs. “We would like the government to establish a weighted vote in favor of the 6-8 main companies that support the championship. We cannot continue to accumulate debts.
Napoli closed the budget with a profit of 83 million, but with great difficulty. We cannot invest in facilities and youth teams as we would like, especially in the difficult political context of the South.
If these 6-8 companies had the majority, they could create conditions for greater economic efficiency that would also benefit the smaller teams.”
Article published on May 22, 2024 - 18:30 pm
