Football and rugby vying over Fiorentina pitch

Football and rugby are involved in a bizarre tug of war over Fiorentina’s Franchi stadium due to a fixture clash.

The Italian football association announced on Tuesday that the Serie A match between Fiorentina and Parma would be held on November 21.

However, the date and stadium have already been booked for a rugby union international between Italy and world champions South Africa, for which tickets are already on sale.

Neither Fiorentina nor Parma have commented on the clash but a spokesman for the Italian Rugby Federation said all parties, which includes the city of Florence, which owns the stadium, were working on a solution.

One possibility is that the football match will be moved to either December 2 or 16 or the rugby match would have to be moved to another stadium.