Serie A President Justifies Atalanta v Lecce Fiasco

The Cult of Calcio

·28 de abril de 2025

Serie A President Justifies Atalanta v Lecce Fiasco

Lecce were forced to play on Sunday against Atalanta, a few days after the sudden passing of their physio, Graziano Fiorita, last Thursday. The game was supposed to take place last Friday. The Salentini clamored to push it to a later date, but Serie A denied their request. As a form of protest, their execs didn’t follow the team in Bergamo, and they wore a nondescript white jersey, refusing to don their usual colors and blasting the League in a statement.

President Ezio Simonelli answered the criticism to TuttoSport (via Fanpage).

“As a man, I wish to voice my closeness and participation to the family and everybody in Lecce: the squad, the management, and the fans. As the head of the Serie A, it’s feel indebted to explain the reasons for the choice.” “Postponing the game, which requires the green light from both clubs to begin with, wouldn’t have protected the regularity of the championship. Some clubs are fighting to avoid relegation and others for prestigious objectives like qualifying for the European competitions.” “It could have been guaranteed only by using the first available window, which was Sunday. If it were moved to Wednesday, it would have led to the postponement also of Lecce vs Napoli on Saturday. The puzzle would have been impossible to solve. Holding it in late May would have distorted the campaign. Atalanta might have been less motivated, or perhaps the relegation struggle might have already been settled.” “Making decisions, sometimes difficult ones, is different from giving advice. We take responsibility for it. I can assure that other teams didn’t apply any pressure.”