The ball of Italian Serie A is pictured before the Italian Serie A football match between Juventus and Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on March 10, 2024. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Reports from Italy suggest that the Rome Derby, originally scheduled for Sunday at 11:30 BST, may be moved to Monday to avoid conflicting with the Italian Open Championship Final, which is taking place near the Olimpico. However, rescheduling the Derby would also impact four other Serie A matches.
Lega Serie A confirmed dates and kick-off times for Round 37 on Monday.
Serie A Round 37: Five games might be rescheduled
Typically, teams fighting for the same objective play at the same time in the two final matchdays to ensure fairness and currently five teams are battling for a Champions League place: Napoli, Juventus, Milan, Roma and Como.
This means they all have to play at the same time in the last two games of the season, but here comes the second issue.
Roma are set to face Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on the same day as the Italian Open Championship Final, with over 20,000 tennis fans expected to attend the Central Court just outside the Olimpico.
As TMW highlights, the Rome derby would finish just three hours before the Final begins, posing problems for public security.
Lega Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo has said that playing the Derby at 12:30 CET (11:30 BST) on Sunday was the only possible option, but the Lazio Region Governor Francesco Rocca doesn’t exactly see it the same way.
“De Siervo’s announcement leaves me perplexed, to put it mildly,” Rocca told Corriere della Sera.
“It is absurd to make a decision just a few days before a match, whose date had been known for a long time and at the same time as the men’s final of the International Tennis Championship. This choice, besides being short-sighted, completely disregards the assessments carried out by the public security authorities.
“It would be wiser to play the Derby on Monday [May 18]. I find it unfair to demonise the fans when, in reality, there was simply a failure to plan ahead. I hope that Minister Piantedosi and Prefect Giannini will step in to correct the Lega Serie A’s superficial and selfish stance.”
We expect a decision today from the Provincial Committee for Public Order and Safety, which is meeting at the Prefecture in Rome.
According to TMW, as things stand, it’s highly likely that the Rome derby, along with the other four Serie A games, Juventus-Fiorentina, Como-Parma, Genoa-Milan and Pisa-Napoli will be moved to Monday at 18:00 CET (17.00 BST).
