Napoli Request Rescheduling of Coppa Italia Semi-Finals Amid Serie A Coronavirus Postponements
By Max Cooper
If there's one thing more gripping than a top-of-the-table clash between Juventus and Inter, then it's the decision of when to schedule the fixture in the Serie A calendar.
Italy has been severely hit by the coronavirus, with over 1,000 cases confirmed up and down the country. Calcio has taken a backseat behind public safety in the list of priorities, and it was subsequently announced that Juve and Inter would have to play their huge grudge match behind closed doors this Sunday.
That decision has since been revoked however, with the game being pushed back until Wednesday 13 May - the penultimate fixture of the season. But Napoli chief press officer Nicola Lombardo told Radio Kiss Kiss (via Football Italia) that 'it would be fairer for all concerned if Juventus-Inter was brought forward to Wednesday', instead postponing the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
“We are faced with an emergency of a global scale with the coronavirus and must therefore respect the decisions, but football is nonetheless an industry that must be protected,” Lombardo declared.
“To us, it seems that it would be fairer for all concerned if Juventus-Inter was brought forward to Wednesday, so the two Coppa Italia semi-finals can easily be postponed to May. Otherwise, the tournaments are going to be distorted by these changes.
"If games are going to be moved around anyway, it would be only right to ensure the fairness of the Serie A tournament and of the individual teams if Juventus-Inter is played on Wednesday and the two Coppa Italia semi-finals moved to May.”
The decision to move the potential title-decider to the end of the season came as a shock to many in Italy, especially given the timing of the announcement. Five games were postponed this weekend, including Fiorentina's trip to Udinese.
The announcement arrived so late that Fiorentina had already travelled to Udine for their Serie A fixture, and had to return to Florence upon hearing the news.
If Serie A officials do opt to postpone the cup competition and reschedule the Juve-Inter clash again to next Wednesday, then it would at least provide some balance to an already distorted league table.
Lazio currently sit top of Serie A, but Le Aquile have played one more game than I Bianconeri, and two more than Antonio Conte's Nerazzurri.
Napoli are also involved in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, having beaten Inter 1-0 at San Siro in the first leg.