REDS A-BAR-OAD

Liverpool fans could be forced to travel 160 miles further as Napoli president wants games moved to Bari

Aurelio De Laurentiis said he will ask Uefa to get Champions League games moved over concerns with the Italian club's stadium

LIVERPOOL fans may be forced to travel an extra 160 miles for their Champions League game against Napoli.

The Italian club's president is preparing to ask Uefa to allow Napoli's home matches to be moved to Bari this season.

Advertisement
The Napoli president wants to move Champions League games away from the Stadio San Paolo to BariCredit: Reuters
Dries Mertens and his Napoli team-mates may have to travel 160 miles from the west coast to the east coastCredit: AFP or licensors
Incredible footage emerges of Cristiano Ronaldo's rousing team talk that inspired Real Madrid to beat Liverpool in Champions League final

Jurgen Klopp's side are scheduled to play in Italy on October 3, the second matchday of this season's tournament as they look to go one step further than last year.

Aurelio De Laurentiis has publicly criticised the home of Napoli, Stadio San Paolo which is municipally-owned.

And he is prepared to pay for 1,000 coaches to take fans to each match from Naples on Italy's west coast to Bari on the east coast.

It takes more than three hours to drive between the two stadia.

Advertisement
Liverpool fans still don't know where the match on October 3 will be played but Uefa are yet to receive a requestCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Most read in football

BALANCED BLUES
Bompastor hails Chelsea’s ‘perfect start’ but wants more improvement
30 YEARS OF SHIRT
Bobby Moore's lost 1966 World Cup shirt worth £1m tracked down to Wales
ED IN HANDS
Sheeran asked to LEAVE Sky Sports coverage after gatecrashing Amorim interview
RISING DAMP
Non-league stars go swimming on their pitch as entire stadium underwater

In an interview with Corriere dello Sport, De Laurentiis said: "The stadium of Napoli is a nightmare. Such a bad stadium limits Napoli at an international level.

"It will take two years but I am going to build a new stadium so nobody can say anything to me."

The comments angered Naples mayor Luigi Di Magistris, who is in an ongoing dispute with the Napoli president.

Advertisement

Di Magistris said: "His suggestion is unthinkable and impractical. It’s a serious matter to even think about something like that.

Aurelio De Laurren has promised to rebuild the Napoli stadium within two years
Liverpool were drawn with Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Red Star Belgrade in Group CCredit: AP:Associated Press

"Napoli play and will play at the San Paolo stadium."

Advertisement

De Laurentiis is not only the president of Napoli but also took over former Serie A side Bari, who are now in the fourth tier following financial struggles.

Liverpool and Napoli were drawn in the same group as French giants Paris Saint-Germain and Red Star Belgrade in Group C.

Napoli’s 2018/19 home shirt has a hidden animal lurking in the design
Liverpool will be desperate to go one step further than last year and win a sixth European Cup but may face extra travelling than they first thought
Topics
Advertisement
machibet777.com