Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis will not be in attendance for the second leg of Napoli’s Champions League quarter-final against Milan at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Tuesday evening.
It was confirmed by Il Mattino that the Partenopei executive will be in the United States on other business until the end of the month and is unable to fly back for the team’s crucial engagement in Europe.
De Laurentiis has also recently been involved with a public feud with sections of the Napoli supporter base over disagreements on the club’s ticketing policy and price structure.
Some Napoli ultras decided to stage a silent protest against the club’s owner during the 4-0 loss to Milan in Serie A at the beginning of April and ADL was subsequently assigned police protection as a precautionary measure.
ADL and the club’s ultras were able to smooth things over during a meeting in Naples on Saturday, which had been requested by a number of senior Italian officials.
Napoli have work to do in the second leg of the Champions League tie after falling to a 1-0 deficit after the first leg at San Siro last Wednesday. Kick off at the Maradona is at 20.00 UK time on Tuesday evening.