Odds and Sods

The Italian League will resume play again this weekend, with only 6 stadiums open for business. These stadiums (Rome, Genoa, Siena, Cagliari, Palermo, and Turin) are the only ones deemed fit with the necessary security reforms to continue play. The other stadiums, most notably the San Siro in Milan (home to megaclubs AC Milan and Inter), will not allow supporters until the necessary security reforms are implemented.

The closing of the San Siro causes a controversy, as AC Milan are scheduled to play the home leg of their Champions’ League match against Celtic there on March 7th. Mee-lan would then presumably be forced to play their matches in a closed San Siro or moved to a neutral site (Geneva and Newcastle have offered).

Not so fast my friend! UEFA, always willing to display backbone when dealing with the larger clubs, has announced that there is a “possibility” that they would make an exception for the Champions League clash, provided AC Milan met the necessary security reforms. Michel Platini will be organizing future lunches next week to discuss the matter. Safety first! Except when there is a lot of money involved.

No word yet on how the Italian league plans to deal with the fact that the violence was perpetrated by home supporters and outside of the stadium.