Lazio hang on to Mancini Thursday 17 June, 2004
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A bitter row between Inter and Lazio has exploded with claims “they won’t go unpunished” for poaching Roberto Mancini.
The San Siro giants announced on Tuesday evening that Mancini was their new Coach, but that came as news to Lazio, with whom he still has a two-year contract.
“The attitude of Inter, Massimo Moratti and Giacinto Facchetti will not go unpunished,” slammed Lazio President Ugo Longo. “Our lawyers are looking at the contracts and we’ll take every step to ensure our rights are respected.”
It seems as if Mancini did not request that the contract be terminated before agreeing a deal with his new club, so the Capital outfit is holding out to be reimbursed.
“Mr Mancini is a registered member of SS Lazio,” added director Giuseppe Matteo Masoni, “and we will not give him any clearance to talk with other clubs. As of now, Mancini is still our Coach.”
This is an embarrassing situation for all the parties concerned. Inter and Mancini could face penalties for an illegal approach, while Lazio are left in the lurch.
This has certainly not helped their financial struggle, as today Biancocelesti shares dipped by 29 per cent on the stock exchange.
One solution would be for Inter to hand over a player as a form of payment for the Capital club. Likely candidates to be swapped are Kily Gonzalez and Julio Cruz.
