Lunchtime match schedule comes in for heavy criticism.
The derby between rivals AS Roma and Lazio in Rome on Sunday has been scheduled early to discourage fan violence, sparking criticism from the managers of both teams.
More than 1,500 police officers are set be deployed in the area around the Stadio Olimpico, with screening procedures and separate routes and parking for the two fan bases.
Police swept the area around the stadium on Saturday, searching for hidden weapons and firecrackers ahead of the lunchtime match on Sunday.
“It’s a defeat for football, because at that hour and in this heat, the pace [of the match] will be affected” – Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri said – “But it’s also a defeat for authorities, because if they’re forced to play at 12.30, it means they can’t guarantee public order at other times.”
Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini, who took over from Claudio Ranieri in June, also cited the temperature which is set to be above 30 degrees Celsius.
The rescheduling of the match comes after 24 police officers were injured in clashes with hardcore “ultra” fans before the last derby in April, in scenes of urban warfare slammed as “disgraceful and shameful” by Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi.
The early match time also came in for harsh criticism from Alessandro Onorato, Rome’s councillor for major events, sport, tourism and fashion, who described it as “a failure of the state”.
“Playing at 12.30 out of fear, or to prevent, or to more promptly address potential disturbances among fans is a disgrace” – Onorato said – “Frankly, coming from a government that won elections by promising greater security and a crackdown on violent groups, this seems like an embarrassing surrender.”
Italy’s sport minister Andrea Abodi hit back at Onorato, stressing that “it certainly is not a surrender”, saying: “We don’t bow down before criminals”.
The minister acknowledged, however, “that the experiences of the evening derby have taught us to be prudent”.
The new president of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Luciano Buonfiglio, praised authorities for their handling of the situation, saying: “The state is doing everything it can to avoid problems”.
The early match schedule has also prompted criticism from restaurant owners in the area around the stadium who describe it as “a lost Sunday” in terms of business.
Dating back to 1929, the Derby della Capitale is considered the fiercest intra-city rivalry in Italian football.
As Sarri put it on Saturday: “If there’s a game thats worth for dying on the pitch, it’s the derby”.
The match will lead to widespread traffic restrictions and street closures in the area around the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, for full details see the city’s mobility website.
Image: Rome, 5 January 2025: Nicolo Rovella of Lazio, Mats Hummels of Roma, Matteo Guendouzi of Lazio during Italian football Serie A Enilive 2024-2025 match AS Roma vs SS Lazio at Stadio Olimpico. Photo credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp / Shutterstock.com.
