Sarri rallies isolated Lazio players amid boycott as Coppa Italia semi-final nears | OneFootball

Maurizio Sarri has adopted an us-against-everyone stance at Lazio, urging his players to block out turmoil and near-empty stands.

According to Il Messaggero, the 67-year-old told the squad on the training ground that they are on their own, must focus on the pitch, and accept what they cannot change.

Sarri returned for a second spell last summer. A transfer ban in June blocked any reinforcements.

When the ban was lifted in December, president Claudio Lotito sold several of the club’s most valuable players and brought in younger options Sarri deemed too green. Organised fan groups then intensified protests against the president by refusing to attend games at the Stadio Olimpico.

Sarri initially described the boycott as an act of love, while urging a return to back the team before the Coppa Italia semi-final with Atalanta, first leg in Rome on four March. Appeals from him and Adam Marusic have not shifted the groups, who still plan to stay away.

Lazio have travelled to Sardinia to face Cagliari in Serie A on Saturday. They host Torino the following weekend, three days before that cup tie.

Source: The Laziali