San Siro open for Euro ties

The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza will be allowed to open to Inter and Milan fans for the Champions League ties, UEFA have confirmed.

The stadium had not received the green light from the Italian Government to reopen to fans, but work carried out last week brought the arena closer to the Legge Pisanu standards, allowing at least Milan season ticket holders to access the arena on Sunday.

The first knockout round match between Inter and Valencia on February 20 will therefore kick off at San Siro at 2045 hours local time as per schedule.

UEFA confirmed on their website that the permitted capacity will be 36,000, including the five per cent reserved for visiting supporters, that is 1,800 tickets to be sold via the visiting team.

The Italian Football Federation informed the governing body of European football that the Stadio Meazza already conforms with some of the measures provided for by Italian law but that some work must still be completed before full capacity will be allowed at the venue.

As to the Milan-Celtic tie scheduled on March 7, this clash will also be hosted at San Siro, again in front of a limited number of spectators, with the exact capacity still to be determined.

It seems certain however that the capacity will include 4,500 seats reserved for Celtic fans.

UEFA Statement >>>

Source: C4 Football Italia

Melandri: No step backwards

Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri has insisted that there will be no special passes for stadiums which do not comply with the new strict safety measures.

The arenas were closed after the tragic death of a policeman in Catania earlier this month and only very few venues were allowed to reopen to spectators last week, when the Championships resumed.

The Government in fact released a list of ‘safe stadiums’, declaring that all the other facilities will not host any spectators until the work needed for them to meet the security measures is completed.

"No stadium which fails to comply with the Pisanu Law regulations will open to supporters," declared Melandri to in an interview to La Repubblica TV.

"There will be no step backwards, the Government is determined in its decision. Safety has to be the priority and only safe arenas will be allowed to open again," added the Minister.

The Pisanu Law was voted in 2005, but many stadiums had been granted special permissions to open by the local authorities.

"This will not happen again, we want to avoid repeating the same mistakes. The new safety measures have immediate effect and are strategic. The clubs are working hard to renovate the stadiums, along with the town councils when they are available.

"No decree can eliminate violent behaviours, which have several different causes that we need to understand. That is why the world of football needed to give an important and clear signal," concluded Melandri.

Source: C4 Football Italia