The UAE’s bid to host the Italian Super Cup in December between Lazio and Juventus has been rejected, according to the Italian press.
Italian football’s annual curtain-raiser between the winners of Serie A and the Italian Cup was proposed to be held in Dubai in December after Juventus objected to playing the match in Beijing, China on August 10 because of a pre-season scheduling clash.
Maurizio Baretta, President of the Italian Football League, said the December option had been rejected at Monday’s meeting, but the time and location for the final remain undecided.
Baretta told Football Italia: “No decision has been taken yet. We are looking at the option of playing in China again. The only certainty for now is that the final will not be played during the winter break. That proposal has fallen [through].”
Lazio want the game to be played in Beijing in August due to its marketing and sponsorship potential and the league are contracted to host at least one more final in the Chinese city before 2016.
But due to a scheduling clash with Juventus’ pre-season tour of North America, three more alternatives have had to be suggested: playing in Canada on August 10, Turin or Milan on August 18 or Beijing on August 24.
Lazio president Claudio Lotito wasn’t impressed with the three options because the latter involves playing the fixture on the opening day of Serie A, meaning games involving Lazio and Juventus’ matches would have to be postponed.
Since its 1988 inception, the Italian Super Cup has been played twice in the US, once in Libya and three times in China.
