Outcry at Rome's 'derby of shame'
MILAN, May 16 (Reuters) - Italy's main consumer's association has called for fans to get their money back and the stock market to take action after Sunday's goalless Rome derby between AS Roma and Lazio led to allegations the teams had arranged the result.
The game ended amid whistles and jeers from both sets of supporters and the consumer association Codacons said it had received calls from fans looking to get their ticket money back.
Lazio forward Paolo Di Canio and Roma coach Bruno Conti both appeared on Italian television on Sunday denying any agreement had been reached for the draw.
Roma and Lazio have struggled this season and with two games to go neither side is yet safe from relegation, although the point each got on Sunday could eventually turn out to be vital.
In a statement Codacons said legal action aimed at retrieving ticket money could be taken out with the Justice of the Peace in Rome.
Codacons, who described the match as 'strange' also said they were asking the stock market regulator Consob, to 'intervene'.
'We do that because you can read in the newspapers today concerns over a possible agreement between the two teams to end the match in a draw.
'This is a situation, which if verified, would falsify the value of the shares in Roma and Lazio through faked results,' said Codacons president Carlo Rienzi.
Italian media slammed the performance of both sides with Rome's main newspaper Il Messaggero branding the match 'the derby of shame'.
'Never again' its headline said.
'Roma-Lazio will go down as the most ugly game of the century and a rip-off for the 66,323 spectators in the Olympic Stadium who did not know whether to laugh or cry, whether to get angry or feel ashamed,' the paper wrote.
'Since Roma and Lazio came into being nothing like this has ever happened and we will remember the names of these gentlemen forever,' it added.
The Rome-based sports paper Corriere dello Sport's front page headline was: 'A Disgrace!'
'It was the worst derby in history. A squalid 0-0. 70,000 spectators betrayed'.
Reports said fans had chanted 'You've all agreed it' and 'Clowns' at the players during a second half which yielded little excitement.
The result did little to help either team on Sunday though as none of the bottom four teams in Serie A lost.
The point gained left Roma just three points away from the relegation zone with two games remaining and Lazio have just one point more.
The relegation situation in Serie A this season is very unusual with 13 teams still mathematically fighting the drop with two matches remaining.
Just five points separate 18th placed Fiorentina from eighth placed Cagliari.
The bottom three are currently made up of Atalanta on 35 points and Fiorentina and Brescia on 38.
Roma, who have been in the top flight for every season since 1952, face two head-to-head clashes with relegation rivals in the final games.
First they must travel to face Atalanta before a home game against 17th placed Chievo Verona.
Lazio, in 10th place, have 42 points but also have a tough finale to the campaign -- at home to Dino Zoff's Fiorentina and then away to Palermo who are battling for a UEFA Cup place.
MILAN, May 16 (Reuters) - Italy's main consumer's association has called for fans to get their money back and the stock market to take action after Sunday's goalless Rome derby between AS Roma and Lazio led to allegations the teams had arranged the result.
The game ended amid whistles and jeers from both sets of supporters and the consumer association Codacons said it had received calls from fans looking to get their ticket money back.
Lazio forward Paolo Di Canio and Roma coach Bruno Conti both appeared on Italian television on Sunday denying any agreement had been reached for the draw.
Roma and Lazio have struggled this season and with two games to go neither side is yet safe from relegation, although the point each got on Sunday could eventually turn out to be vital.
In a statement Codacons said legal action aimed at retrieving ticket money could be taken out with the Justice of the Peace in Rome.
Codacons, who described the match as 'strange' also said they were asking the stock market regulator Consob, to 'intervene'.
'We do that because you can read in the newspapers today concerns over a possible agreement between the two teams to end the match in a draw.
'This is a situation, which if verified, would falsify the value of the shares in Roma and Lazio through faked results,' said Codacons president Carlo Rienzi.
Italian media slammed the performance of both sides with Rome's main newspaper Il Messaggero branding the match 'the derby of shame'.
'Never again' its headline said.
'Roma-Lazio will go down as the most ugly game of the century and a rip-off for the 66,323 spectators in the Olympic Stadium who did not know whether to laugh or cry, whether to get angry or feel ashamed,' the paper wrote.
'Since Roma and Lazio came into being nothing like this has ever happened and we will remember the names of these gentlemen forever,' it added.
The Rome-based sports paper Corriere dello Sport's front page headline was: 'A Disgrace!'
'It was the worst derby in history. A squalid 0-0. 70,000 spectators betrayed'.
Reports said fans had chanted 'You've all agreed it' and 'Clowns' at the players during a second half which yielded little excitement.
The result did little to help either team on Sunday though as none of the bottom four teams in Serie A lost.
The point gained left Roma just three points away from the relegation zone with two games remaining and Lazio have just one point more.
The relegation situation in Serie A this season is very unusual with 13 teams still mathematically fighting the drop with two matches remaining.
Just five points separate 18th placed Fiorentina from eighth placed Cagliari.
The bottom three are currently made up of Atalanta on 35 points and Fiorentina and Brescia on 38.
Roma, who have been in the top flight for every season since 1952, face two head-to-head clashes with relegation rivals in the final games.
First they must travel to face Atalanta before a home game against 17th placed Chievo Verona.
Lazio, in 10th place, have 42 points but also have a tough finale to the campaign -- at home to Dino Zoff's Fiorentina and then away to Palermo who are battling for a UEFA Cup place.
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