Owner of Napoli requests Super Cup be relocated from Saudi Arabia following war outbreak

Following the commencement of war between Israel and Hamas, Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis stated on Tuesday that he prefers Italy to Saudi Arabia as the venue for the Italian Super Cup.

Along with Lazio, Inter Milan, and Fiorentina, four Serie A teams—including the defending champions of Italy, Napoli—are slated to compete in the redesigned Super Cup in the Gulf state in January.

Napoli and Fiorentina were reportedly planning to skip the competition, but De Laurentiis claimed he just wanted it returned to Italy out of concern that traveling to Saudi Arabia may be unsafe.

“Have you heard about what’s happening in Israel? There might be an air blockade over some places, De Laurentiis suggested at a Rome event, according to news agency ANSA.

“How in the world can you ever consider boarding a plane with 120 players who are paid what they are worth? All that for a few million dollars more in revenue? Let’s just hold it at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

“I don’t intend to boycott it. I merely requested that we consider shifting the tournament.

The Serie A champions and Italian Cup winners have traditionally competed in the Super Cup; Inter Milan defeated AC Milan in the most recent edition, which took place in Riyadh in January.

In a move similar to the one made to the Spanish Super Cup, this season’s top two finishers in Serie A as well as the two Italian Cup finalists will compete.

The Super Cup was supposed to take place on the weekend of January 4–8 of the next year, but after a request from the Saudi authorities earlier this month, the event will now take place January 21–25.

The Super Cup’s organizers, Serie A, have not officially announced the new dates, but they have rescheduled four unnamed league games from the previous weekend to January 17–18.

Since Saturday, when hundreds of Hamas terrorists stationed in Gaza launched an unexpected attack on Israel, more than 3,000 people have perished in the conflict.