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Rome set for another damp squib derby

Published 31/03/2016, 14:26
© Reuters. Lazio's Candreva celebrates with his team mate after scoring against Napoli's in their Serie A soccer match at the San Paolo stadium in Naples

ROME (Reuters) - The Rome derby, once one of the most passionate in Europe, is threatening to turn into another damp squib on Sunday (1400 BST) as fans of both Lazio and AS Roma plan another boycott in protest at security measures. The hardcore Roma supporters, who usually occupy the Curva Sud at the Stadio Olimpico, announced last week that they would assemble at the club's former headquarters in the distant suburb of Testaccio to watch the game.

Their Lazio counterparts in the Curva Nord have also issued an open letter explaining why they plan to give the game a miss.

Both groups are angry because the civil defence service has ordered the areas behind the goal to be divided by concrete barriers for security measures.

The first meeting of the season in November, won 2-0 by Roma, was also played in a half-empty stadium and Italian media said that only 22,000 tickets had been sold for Sunday's match by Thursday morning.

"We are going back to our origins," said the Roma fans in their statement. "We will start from our glorious past to take back the future...no compromise, no barriers."

Lazio fans, meanwhile, said the barriers were one of many issues.

"This was, in our view, yet another random measure, dictated by events not necessarily linked to the Curva Nord, but by media pressure. For us, it was the drop that made the glass overflow," they said.

Their letter criticised the absurdity of new measures which include, among other things, the possibility of supporters being fined for sitting in the wrong seat.

"Who, among those who made these decisions seated around a table, knows that people change places just because the seat is dirty, or the seat number is missing or has been worn away?

"Or, because there are barriers in front (cement, glass) limiting the visibility in a stadium where every available centimetre has been tapped for financial reasons?

"Or even just because paying spectators in the first 10 or 20 rows of this very modern stadium get wet when it rains?"

The teams' respective situations have also dampened fans' enthusiasm ahead of the derby.

Lazio, third last season, have slumped to eighth after a dismal run and were knocked out of the Europa League by Sparta Prague, prompting fresh protests against club president Claudio Lotito.

Roma are a comfortable third, the Champions League playoff spot, with a five-point cushion between them and fourth-placed Fiorentina, but no realistic chance of challenging leading pair Juventus and Napoli, who both face teams from the lower half of the table.

© Reuters. Lazio's Candreva celebrates with his team mate after scoring against Napoli's in their Serie A soccer match at the San Paolo stadium in Naples

Juventus, chasing a fifth successive title, are three points clear at the top and host 11th-placed Empoli on Saturday (1945 BST) while Napoli visit Udinese (16th) on Sunday (1030).

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