Surprised no one posted this yet.
Fixtures lists set for Tuesday
Genoa’s legal attempts to block the new season have been temporarily thwarted as the Serie A, B and C calendars will be drawn up on Tuesday.
This week the club – demoted to Serie C1 and handed a three-point penalty as a result of a match-fixing trial – forced the postponement of Thursday’s planned fixture list compilation by appealing to the Genoa TAR tribunal.
However, today the Lazio TAR ruled that Genoa’s civil courts have no jurisdiction over sporting matters – a legal loophole closed after the Catania chaos two years ago.
The FIGC has announced that the Serie A, B and C calendars will be drawn up at 1pm UK time on Tuesday August 16.
The appeal was made possible by the intervention of Mario Macalli, President of the Serie C Lega Calcio. “I see no reason to wait,” he noted. “The more time passes, the worse it will become. I represent the interests of 89 clubs in Serie C1 and C2 who have the right to play after obeying all the rules and they deserve to start their season.”
Genoa reacted furiously to the news that their legal strategy had, at least temporarily, failed to get them reinstated to the top flight. “I have nothing to say,” blasted President Enrico Preziosi. “The whole issue speaks for itself, really.”
The Rossoblu’s lawyer Franco Coppi insisted, “This decision opens up a serious conflict between sport and the courts of law. If the FIGC wants to go ahead and draw up the calendars, it will suffer the consequences.”
The date set for the Genoa TAR tribunal to discuss the matter with the FIGC is also set for Tuesday August 16, so this latest summer of chaos in Italian football is not over yet.