Sky journalist Manuele Baiocchini has confirmed there was ‘a lot of annoyance’ on AC Milan’s part about the postponement of the Bologna game.
After a long and confusing Friday that was full of conflicting news, in the end the Mayor of the city of Bologna – Matteo Lepore – won his fight and got the game postponed to a date to be determined, sparking a lot of controversy.
Milan wanted to play the game, not just because they had prepared for it and made plans (four different plans, in fact), but also because Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders will now be forced to serve their suspension in the next match, which is the clash with league leaders Napoli.
Baiocchini spoke to Sky about the possible date that the game could be rescheduled to and also revealed what the reaction was internally at Milan as everything unfolded yesterday. Radio Rossonera relayed his comments.
“Milan resume training on Sunday and there will be two days to prepare for Milan-Napoli on Tuesday evening. Among other things, Milan will have to do without Reijnders and Theo Hernandez who were supposed to miss the match with Bologna,” he said.
“I won’t deny that from what I understand there was a lot of annoyance about this situation. The wait risks becoming very long, a first hypothesis was February but it will depend on the Champions League progress of Milan and Bologna.
“The Rossoneri will then also have the Coppa Italia and in January the Supercoppa Italiana for which the match with Como will also have to be moved. The first certain date could be April 3.
“There is a paradox, Milan-Bologna the return leg would be played on May 11 as scheduled, according to the rules at least 8 games must pass between the first and second leg and so they would not pass. Lega Serie A is working to find a solution that everyone can agree on.”
The game should be delayed when safety and logistics are at risk. In the Milan vs. Bologna match, relocating it could have ensured both. It’s disappointing they chose the easy way, making the government look dictatorial by imposing decisions without considering fans and players.