Today’s Cagliari-Roma match has been called off by local authorities due to public order concerns after the club invited fans to attend the closed doors game.
The decision was made deep into the night in an emergency meeting of the Cagliari Prefecture and local police.
The Serie A tie was set to kick off at 14.00 UK time, 15.00 local, at the Is Arenas in Sardinia.
Today’s Cagliari-Roma match has been called off by local authorities due to public order concerns after the club invited fans to attend the closed doors game.
The decision was made deep into the night in an emergency meeting of the Cagliari Prefecture and local police.
The Serie A tie was set to kick off at 14.00 UK time, 15.00 local, at the Is Arenas in Sardinia.
It was to be played behind closed doors, as the stadium again failed security checks amid restructuring work.
However, Cagliari President Massimo Cellino released a statement on the club website inviting all supporters with season tickets to attend anyway, as he considered the stadium to be perfectly adequate to host a crowd.
This prompted a late night emergency meeting and the decision to call off the game due to public order concerns, as authorities feared a riot if fans turned up to the stadium and were not allowed in.
“This decision was forced by the urgent and grave need to prevent any form of public order concern caused by the emotive, irrational and ill-advised reaction of the Cagliari Calcio President,” read a statement.
It is possible the game will not go ahead at all, as Cagliari could be awarded a 3-0 defeat for stopping the match.