AC Milan should currently be in the closing stages of their Serie A match against Bologna at the Stadio Renato dall’Ara, but instead it will be played in a few months.
It was on Thursday night that the news first began to circulate regarding the possibility of the match being postponed due to adverse weather in the Emilia region and the prospect of flooding around the stadium.
Throughout Friday various ideas emerged such as playing the match behind closed doors or moving it to a neutral venue, and at one point Milan had plans in place for four different trips to four different cities.
However, the official announcement came yesterday afternoon that it will not be played and the fixture will instead have to be rescheduled. Bologna’s CEO agrees with the decision, but it would be fair to say Milan do not.
A couple of things have come to light which increase the doubts surrounding the decision made to postpone the game, to February or beyond.
The storm that never came
The first point of contention is that the bad weather which was meant to make the game unplayable does not seem to have arrived. Of course there has been rainfall and flooding in some parts, but throughout the day the webcam below has shown grey but not exactly inclement weather.
Moreover, a Milan fan on X (formerly Twitter) posted a video that they claim was taken this afternoon, showing the surrounding areas of the stadium looking very accessible.
It doesn’t even appear as though there would be an issue staging the game with fans let alone behind closed doors, as the potential solution was touted.
Via Saragozza, ora… https://t.co/CvmiFgn7lg pic.twitter.com/OnIq0PJ9dQ
— RANDAGIO 🔴⚫ (@RandagioRN) October 26, 2024
The lack of consistency
When the Mayor of Bologna – Matteo Lepore – signed the ordinance to officially mark the Dall’Ara as being unusable, he did so because of concerns about the number of fans who would attend. It became a public order issue, in his eyes.
However, as our journalist Luca Maninetti highlights, there are three other sporting events that are going ahead in Bologna this weekend. The Bologna Boxing, Motor Show and the Primavera game against Udinese are all going ahead.
Bologna Boxing ✅️
Bologna Motor Show ✅️
Bologna Udinese Primavera ✅️
Bologna Milan ❌️Spiegatemi perché…
— Luca Maninetti (@LucaManinetti) October 25, 2024
Setting a precedent
It became apparently soon after the news of the Mayor’s decision to sign the ordinance document to try and get the game postponed that he doesn’t actually have the power to do so. Shocking, we know.
He effectively acted above his station and then is believed to have put pressure on the league to uphold his decision, which was made with presumed autonomy. Milan and Lega Serie A were in favour of playing anywhere, also to safeguard the regularity of the season.
As Il Giornale rightly point out: ‘The postponement, as the office led by Andrea Butti has well understood, is a dangerous precedent for the stability of the season because from today it allows a mayor to suspend, with his own ordinance, a Serie A match’.
Essentially, the paper are correctly stating that if in future a mayor decides that he does not want a game to be played in his city for whatever reason, he can just apply the same process.
Flawed logic
Let’s dive a bit more into the words of Bologna’s CEO, who spoke about the decision to cancel the game and expressed a favourable opinion.
“There is an objectively difficult situation in the area surrounding the stadium, some structures have also collapsed. There are objective situations that made it difficult to play the match in Bologna, aside from the solidarity of the families in our area,” Fenucci said.
“The postponement seems to me like the wisest choice, because it allows us to protect the match proceeds, part of which will be donated to the people affected.”
He remarks that the important thing in the eyes of the club was to protect the revenues from the game so they could be donated to the victims, yet this is questionable.
The plan remains to donate 50% of the proceeds from the re-arranged game, yet it will be months down the line. Why not get the game on as planned, to secure the money to donate? Or alternatively, do the same donation for the next home game?
The idea that the game was called off because it was a necessary sacrifice in the aid of charity is frankly far from a watertight defence.
Politics at play
A report from La Repubblica this morning was the first to shed light on the idea of there potentially being a power play from within the Lega meeting yesterday.
They state that the Rossoneri had made themselves available to play anywhere. On the other hand, Bologna did not want to take the field without their home fans, who would have been penalised by the decision to play behind closed doors or at a neutral venue.
A majority in the Lega meeting ultimately voted for the postponement, at the end of a meeting that was ‘first and foremost political’. The paper states that Claudio Lotito – the Lazio president and a historic ally of his Napoli counterpart Aurelio De Laurentiis – campaigned for the postponement.
Who are Milan’s next opponents? Napoli. And why is that important? Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders – two of Paulo Fonseca’s most important players – will miss that important clash through suspension.
Forgive us for perhaps being overly cynical, and of course the safety of everyone – not just football fans – is paramount. Nonetheless, this whole ordeal has left a sour taste.
It’s corruption, and I’m not defending it in any way, but there is indeed something to be said for our American uber capitalists not having many friends in the calcio world not helping our cause here.
But, this absolutely should not stand. It’s disgraceful! There was zero reason for it and now that has shown to be true Bologna should have to forfeit.
This is one more reason to believe we win against Napoli.. because they doing this stupid decision and they want to put away us maybe from Scudetto race? I don’t know but definitely if we win, they all will be mad..
Almost half of the Serie A clubs are owned by Americans: 9 of them. I don’t think that this is the main reason why the game was postponed. I think it was Napoli’s pressure, through their ally Lotito.
I didn’t say it was the main reason, I said it didn’t help. Where have our “allies” gone?
Sad state of affairs. Hope the football authorities will be able to deal with the fact that power is being taken away from them. They have opened themselves up to being used and abused by those in power.
The weather in Bologna was gorgeous today. Blue skies.
This. Is. Italy.
One of the most constructive and omniscient comments ever written. Stop suffering and just root for Orlando City bro.
As I see it, Milan is stuck with “bad Leao” for right now, but “good Leao” usually emerges around February each season. So not such a bad thing for Milan to have a game in hand until February or March, so good Leao can play.
This type of bureaucracy has hampered the Italians for a long time.