January 27 – The thought of a big-league derby match being held in an empty stadium would generally be ridiculed. But that is what could happen next Sunday (February 2) in Genoa when kick off comes at 12.30am local time.
Fan groups of Genoa and Sampdoria in Italy’s Seroe A, and not just their Ultras, have united in protest against the shift to an earlier kick off time from the traditional afternoon kick off to accommodate television schedules. They have both said they will boycott the match.
The Genoa Ultras even issued a statement saying “to play the derby at 12.30 is an atrocious decision that needs a determined response.”
The Sampdoria Ultras group Tito Cucchiaroni for once agreed with their rivals saying that to play the derby at 12.30 is an insult.
“The value of the derby is the atmosphere that has few equals in the world and it’s this that the television is selling. We won’t accept this outrage. We believe that we are the stars of this show, so how much will the show be worth without the fans? We’ll know at 14:15 on Sunday, 2 February, because we won’t be going.”
The Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa is shared by Genoa and Sampdoria and would normally be sold out for a derby match. The stadium holds 36, 700 fans when full. Last season Sampdoria averaged 22,088 for home games and Genoa 19,245.
As well as the ultras, the Associazione Club Genoani, a group covering 182 worldwide Genoa supporters clubs, has also called for a boycott.
Neither of the clubs have made an official statement but a Sampdoria spokesman told Reuters: “If the football league decides that we’re playing at 12:30 on 2 February then we’re playing at 12:30 on 2 February and that’s all there is to it.”
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