Roma-Lazio and the final of the Internationals together: security alarm in Rome

Sunday lunch at the stadium for the Capital derby risks cancelling. And Maurizio Sarri’s protest (has nothing to do with it. Everything is in fact linked to issues of public order which are creating more than a few perplexities at the Police Headquarters and Prefecture of Rome.

the situation

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Let’s try to reconstruct the facts. The match between Roma and Lazio is scheduled for the penultimate day of the championship, with Gasperini’s Giallorossi still in the running for the Champions League. The final of the Italian Internazionali is also scheduled for the Sunday of that same weekend, May 17, just a few meters from the Olimpico. A coincidence that immediately caught the eye when the calendars were drawn up last June, raising quite a bit of controversy, but which now – thanks to a ranking that could not have been imagined at the time – is creating a series of problems that are not easy to resolve. Because all the teams competing for a place in the Champions League must play at the same time as Roma. The Interior Ministry, after the clashes of the past, prohibits the derby from being played in the evening, so just under a week ago the president of the Lega Serie A, Ezio Simonelli, publicly offered what seems to be the only possible scenario: “I don’t think there are too many options. At 8.45pm you can’t play for reasons of public order. In the afternoon there would be the same time as the final of the tennis internationals and that’s not advisable. Only the possibility of 12.30pm remains. Moving it to Monday? It’s a hypothesis that I don’t think is viable.” While waiting for officialisation, another derby is taking shape on Sunday at lunchtime, together with the matches of Milan (at home to Genoa), Juventus (hosting Fiorentina), Como (awaiting Bologna) and perhaps also those of Naples and Atalanta. An obligatory solution for the Lega Serie A, because the only alternative would be to postpone it to Monday at 6pm, therefore in the afternoon of a weekday, with a significant impact on the fans and also (perhaps above all) on TV rights.

the doubts

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The news of the last few hours, however, is linked to the doubts of those who manage public order. If it is true that already on Wednesday 13 May the Foro Italico will be under stress due to the coincidence between an intense day of matches at the Internazionali and the evening final of the Italian Cup between Lazio and Inter (a total of over 110 thousand people are expected), it is also true that the Rome derby, precisely because of the past which for years has made it a game at risk so much so that it can no longer be played at night, creates a security alarm of another (and high) level. With the tennis final (perhaps with Sinner on the court) at 5pm, even if just over 10 thousand people are expected, an increase in law enforcement will be necessary to manage in particular the outflow from the Olimpico dangerously close to the arrival of the fans heading to the Centrale for the last act of the Rome tournament. The Police Headquarters and the Prefecture must take into account the risks that revolve around a match like this, in which moreover one of the two teams could play a good part of the season, and potential clashes after the match cannot be ruled out. As always around the Olimpico the area will be pedestrianised, without forgetting that, contrary to what usually happens, the influx will not be able to take place from via dei Gladiatori (Curva Sud side) closed for the Internationals: everyone will therefore have to pass through the area of ​​the obelisk and the so-called “Ball”. In short, the situation is not easy and apparently those who manage public order would prefer it to be played on another day, namely Monday. Because safety comes first, including TV rights. At the moment there is nothing definitive, the discussion will be resumed in the next few days and in particular on Monday, once the championship results have been acquired and on the eve of the officialization of the times for this controversial 37th matchday by the Lega Serie A.

programming

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Something certainly wasn’t managed in the best way, as the president of Federtennis Angelo Binaghi underlined yesterday: “The rescheduling of the Rome derby? It’s been known for two years that the final would be played that day at that time. I believe this could be the right time in which football realizes that, for the good of its fans, we need to plan the championship taking into account that the Internazionali are in Rome and the ATP Finals in Turin.” In the meantime, the issue of the penultimate championship of this championship must be resolved quickly, there is time for next season. Reminder: the final of the 2027 Internationals will be played on May 16.