Napoli will definitely become the champion of Italy, the only intrigue is when exactly. It is likely that Naples will walk already at the weekend.

It is curious that in connection with this, the Napoli match is even postponed! Although the holiday will take place or not, it depends not only on the Neapolitans.

Napoli could have become champions without their match under the current schedule

First, a brief about the layouts:

• In Italy 7 rounds to finish. Napoli lead with 78 points, followed by Lazio (61).

• The original schedule for the next matchday was as follows: Napoli v Salernitana on Saturday (29 April) and Inter v Lazio on Sunday (30th).

• If Napoli win and Lazio lose points in Milan, then the Neapolitans win the league early: Lazio would have a maximum of 80 in the remaining matches, while Napoli would already have 81.

• Even if Lazio wins both of their next matches (against Inter and then Sassuolo), Napoli could win the title without regard to it in the first week of May – beating Salernitana at home and then Udinese in Udine .

The second option is not so beautiful – both on a weekday and at a party. And the calendar was against the first – after all, Napoli plays a day earlier than Lazio.

Why not postpone the match in this case, the authorities thought. 

At first the league refused, but still surrendered

Talk about a possible postponement of the game between Napoli and Salernitana began on April 24 – the day after the victory of the Neapolitans in Turin. The Naples authorities have asked the league to consider rescheduling the match from Saturday to Sunday, citing public safety concerns.

Moreover, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, it was about the simultaneous holding of matches Inter – Lazio and Napoli – Salernitana on Sunday at 13:30 Moscow time. The league initially refused because…

• Broadcasters Dazn and Sky have already planned the schedule.

• The Udinese-Napoli match scheduled for 2 May would also have to be postponed, as there should be a 72-hour break between games.

• Moreover, Udinese are already selling tickets for the game on 2 May.

A day later, the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, said that a decision would be made later. At the same time, Serie A President Lorenzo Casini made it clear: if the reasons for the transfer are compelling, the league will adapt.    

On April 27, it was revealed that the Casms – the committee for the safety of sporting events – had accepted a request from the prefect of Naples, Claudio Palomba, to postpone the Napoli game for security reasons. Therefore, the match is postponed to Sunday, the league should announce this later. Palomba explained to Sky: “Both days in the city would be hectic. With a match on Saturday, services would have to be prepared [for an enhanced regime] both on Saturday and Sunday.”

Speaking about security, at the same time he mentioned the events in Fuorigrotte (a suburb of Naples), where the other day shooting started after a store robbery.