The President of Serie A, Ezio Simonelli, has suggested that the highly anticipated Derby della Mole between Juventus and Torino should be played exclusively during daylight hours starting next season. He believes that it is advisable to avoid scheduling “high-risk” matches in the closing weeks of the football calendar.

Simonelli’s proposal comes after violent altercations between Juventus and Torino supporters prior to their derby match on the final day of the 2025-26 Serie A season at the Allianz Stadium. The clashes resulted in one Juventus fan being hospitalized in critical but not life-threatening condition. This incident led to the Juventus ultras instructing their players not to take the field, causing a delay in the match and consequently impacting several other simultaneous Serie A games that had implications for Champions League qualification.

Speaking after a FIGC general council meeting, Simonelli stated his expectation that future Juventus vs. Torino matches will not be played at night. He further emphasized that crucial, high-risk fixtures should not be scheduled in the final two weeks of the season to prevent further disruptions to the league’s timetable.

“I live in Milan, and when the derby happens, I see people coming into the city with Milan and Inter shirts, and there are never any clashes, just people going for the pleasure of watching the game. The fact that it is becoming an opportunity for clashes between hooligans in other cities is certainly not a positive thing,” Simonelli remarked.

He added, “This doesn’t detract from the fact that when certain matches have to be played concurrently in the final two weeks of the season, perhaps it’s not appropriate for such delicate matches to end up disrupting the schedules of all the other games.”

“I imagine that the Turin derby will also have a nighttime ban next season. It is still clear that if it were to happen in the final two weeks of the season again, it could delay all the other games,” Simonelli concluded. “It’s an objective question, which leads me to say that it is better to avoid having these high-risk matches in the final few weeks of the season.”

English Translation:

Serie A Chief Calls for Night-Time Ban for Juventus vs. Torino Derby: ‘Better to Avoid’

Serie A President Ezio Simonelli has indicated his expectation that the Derby della Mole between Juventus and city rivals Torino will be played solely during the daytime next season. He advocates for avoiding the scheduling of ‘high-risk’ matches in the final weeks of the season.

The 2025-26 Serie A season’s final round was thrown into disarray following violent clashes between Juventus and Torino supporters in the hours leading up to their derby at the Allianz Stadium. One Juventus fan was hospitalized and reported to be in critical, though not life-threatening, condition. Consequently, the Bianconeri ultras ordered their players to refuse to take the field against Torino. As the Juventus vs. Torino match was scheduled concurrently with several other Serie A games that had Champions League qualification implications, all affected matches were forced into a delay due to the disturbances in Turin. These other matches included Milan vs. Cagliari, Verona vs. Roma, Cremonese vs. Como, and Lecce vs. Genoa.

Simonelli, speaking after Tuesday’s FIGC general council meeting, expressed his belief that Juventus vs. Torino matches will not be played at night next season. He also reiterated that ‘high-risk’ matches of this nature should not be scheduled in the final weeks of the season to prevent further scheduling complications.

“I live in Milan, and when the derby occurs, I see people entering the city with Milan and Inter shirts, and there are never any clashes; it’s just people going for the enjoyment of watching the game. The fact that it is becoming an opportunity for clashes between hooligans in other cities is certainly not a positive development,” Simonelli stated.

“This does not negate the fact that when certain matches must be played simultaneously in the final two weeks of the season, perhaps it is inappropriate for such sensitive matches to end up causing delays to the schedules of all other games.”

“I anticipate that the Turin derby will also face a nighttime ban next season. It remains clear that if such an incident were to occur again in the final two weeks of the season, it could impact all other games. It’s an objective issue, which leads me to conclude that it is better to avoid scheduling these high-risk matches in the final weeks of the season.”