Sarri: ‘Serie A leaders know nothing about football’ | OneFootball

Maurizio Sarri lashed out at the Lega Serie A after Roma vs. Lazio was scheduled for midday local time and clarified his threat to boycott the event. ‘They know nothing about football.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 11.00 UK time (12.00 CEST).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s 10 Serie A games on the Liveblog.

Arranging this fixture was a nightmare due to security fears and this afternoon’s Italian Open men’s singles tennis final in the Foro Italico, the same complex as the Stadio Olimpico.

It was eventually decided on Thursday that it would kick off at the unusual time of midday local, much to the anger of Lazio coach Sarri, who had threatened to not turn up if it was played at this time.

Sarri ‘being provocative’

ROME, ITALY – APRIL 27: Maurizio Sarri, Head Coach of Lazio, looks on during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and Udinese Calcio at Stadio Olimpico on April 27, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

“I was just being provocative, I would never have left my players on their own,” clarified Sarri to DAZN Italia.

“I was just trying to point out that the Lega Serie A is not doing a good job of dealing with the product that is Italian football. This was a day where five teams are playing games that are worth €90m to their futures, it could’ve raised our profile on the world stage, instead we are playing at midday.”

Sarri came up through the lower leagues and only reached Serie A late in his career, so he knows more than most about the struggles of the grassroots game.

“We had two Rome derbies, both played in the hottest time of the day. You see the Primavera youth league, they were playing at midday or even 11am, nobody wanted to go on the pitch, let alone in the stands, they were melting,” he continued.

“I am only talking for the good of football, we have to look after the good of Lazio. I am absolutely not saying that if we put in a bad performance, that is the fault of the Lega Serie A, but clearly we’ve seen there is a total inability to run football this week.

“There are too many political experts involved and not enough who know anything at all about the sport itself. If you talk to these people, you realise they’ve never experienced the smell of the grass.

“They don’t know that playing football in the evening and playing at midday is not the same thing. So I would like to see more experts in football and fewer experts in politics.”

The Lazio ultras meanwhile continue their boycott of the home games, showing a banner in the Curva Sud that reads: ‘Dignity and respect are worth more than a derby.’