Roma-Juve game brought forward over violence fears

Sunday’s game between Roma and Juventus has been brought forward three hours in a bid to avoid more fan violence at the Stadio Olimpico.

Supporters clashed prior to Napoli’s 3-1 win over Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia final following trouble in the capital on Saturday, which resulted in kick-off being delayed by 45 minutes.

This weekend’s Serie A fixture between second-placed Roma and champions Juve was scheduled to begin at 20:45 local time, but will now kick-off at 17:45 due to safety fears.

The decision was made after Roma magistrate Giuseppe Pecoraro consulted with local and police and the league.

“When you need to make a decision to change something that has already been arranged it is obviously never a good thing,” said Giovanni Malago, president of the Italian National Olympic Committee.

“But it is also clear that the decision has been taken to avoid having another problem rather than letting it occur.”