Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni has described Serie A’s decision to postpone his club’s match in Bologna after heavy rain and flooding in the area as “incomprehensible.”
Bologna mayor Matteo Lepore had previously said that he had ordered the match’s suspension, before the league confirmed the postponement after its organisers and the two clubs met on Friday to discuss the situation.
No alternative agreements could be found for staging the match, amid suggestions that the game could go ahead without fans or be played at a neutral venue.
The city of Bologna was flooded after heavy rainfall began on October 19, with landslides, road closures and several power outages.
Bologna’s Renato Dall’Ara Stadium holds over 38,000 supporters with the city’s authorities claiming that such a mass of people would cause logistical issues due to the recent weather. As of Friday, schools, parks and sports centres remained closed as a precautionary measure.
“The match is postponed because with a decision that in my opinion is incomprehensible, the mayor has prohibited the match from being played even behind closed doors,” Milan chairman Scaroni told reporters on Friday.
As a result of the postponement, Milan will be without suspended players Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders — who had both been due to miss the Bologna game — for Tuesday’s match against leaders Napoli.
Milan are fourth in Serie A with 14 points from eight matches, while Bologna are 12th on nine points.
(Mattia Ozbot – Inter/Inter via Getty Images)
