Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Serie A president must step down after Supercoppa fiasco - De Laurentiis

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has told Lega Serie A president Maurizio Beretta that he must step down in the light of an "embarrassing" Italian Supercoppa show last weekend.

Juventus beat Lazio to the first trophy of the domestic season with a 2-0 win in Shanghai, but the event was overshadowed by a television production which drew widespread criticism, as well as a sub-standard pitch.

De Laurentiis, a film producer by trade, says the finger must be pointed at the Serie A, whose decision it was to stage the event at the Shanghai Stadium and save money by hiring a Chinese production company to deliver the pictures.

"It's embarrassing, not for what happened but because to err is human, but to persevere is diabolical," De Laurentiis told Radio Kiss Kiss.

"I refused to go to China a few years back. The Chinese are extraordinary people, but everything's new there. Having an office in Beijing, four years ago I had already worked out not to trust the local organisation.

"In the end, I got my own staff and my own bosses in for everything. The Lega is not like me, it's one of the most disorganised things I've ever seen in my life. The president is incompetent, he's [Lazio president Claudio] Lotito's puppet!

"Why didn't they go a month before to organise it and see what condition the pitch was in? They went last minute. Beretta should resign and Lotito should stop sticking his nose in where it's not wanted. He's controlling everything and [Italy's prime minister Matteo] Renzi should be looking at this if he really wants Italian football to grow."

De Laurentiis admitted he had watched the game via an illegal streaming website "because the Lega was not even able to sell the rights to Portugal," where Napoli were involved in a friendly against Porto.

"It's just a representation of everything that we are," De Laurentiis added. "We're cretins. We've been complaining about things for three years, and we never see any results."

Just a year ago, De Laurentiis promised Napoli fans that "the Scudetto will arrive, trust me," only for coach Rafa Benitez's to finish the season in fifth place. With Maurizio Sarri in to replace the Spaniard on the bench, De Laurentiis is being more careful about what he says.

"We've got our heads down, working hard with the lights switched off so nobody can see us trying to get the right players for our new coach," De Laurentiis added. "It's not at all easy. You need great humility, a strong work ethic, concentration and to be united to grow, grow, grow.

"It's obvious that we're not the only ones either and it's not so simple. But we're trying to do justice to the shirts we wear. I can tell the fans not to worry because [sporting director Cristiano] Giuntoli is working well."

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