Cagliari forced from new home

Cagliari forced from new home

Published Dec. 19, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

Cagliari will meet Juventus at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma on Friday night - a stadium almost 400 miles away from their Sardinian base - the Lega Serie A have confirmed.

The local council were unable to issue the temporary safety certificate required for Cagliari to welcome fans to the Stadio Is Arenas and league authorities have made the final decision today.

A statement on legaseriea.it read: "The Cagliari-Juventus game scheduled for December 21 will be played at the Stadio Tardini in Parma."

The mainland city of Parma lies 391 miles north east of Cagliari, with Sardinian fans facing a round-trip of approximately four hours by plane or 30 hours by car and ferry.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Sardinians have struggled to satisfy the requirements of local authorities to host matches at their newly-constructed Is Arenas home, managing to host just six games in front of limited attendances.

In September, club president Massimo Cellino defied instructions to hold Cagliari's match against Roma behind closed doors, triggering the abandonment of the match and prompting the league to award a 3-0 walkover victory in the Giallorossi's favour.

Safety concerns also forced Cagliari to leave their previous home, the Stadio Sant'Elia, in the last weeks of the 2011-12 season with the islanders' remaining home matches subsequently held over 500 miles away at Trieste's Stadio Nereo Rocco.

share