Italians Stump for Galatasaray-Juve Neutral Site
Copyright � 1998 Nando.net
Copyright � 1998 Reuters
ROME (Nov 20, 1998 - 12:21 EST) - Italian politicians called on Friday for next week's Champions League match between Galatasaray and Juventus to be played on neutral territory as tensions rose over Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.
"I don't want to be alarmist but I think the match may provoke much tension which could be avoided," Vito Leccese, vice-president of the Italian lower chamber's foreign affairs commission, told reporters.
Forza Italia center-right politician Antonio Leone called openly for the match to be called off if it could not be rescheduled elsewhere.
"It could become a dangerous political event. It would be best to avoid dangerous situations which could put the players and those accompanying them at risk," he said.
The Turkish and Italian champions were due to meet in Istanbul next Wednesday in their Group B match.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since Italy arrested Kurdish rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan last week.
Turkish prime minister Mesut Yilmaz was applauded in the Turkish parliament when he said Italy would be an accomplice to terrorism if it failed to hand over Ocalan.
European soccer's governing body UEFA said in a statement it was monitoring escalating political tension between the countries before allowing the match to go ahead.
UEFA said the match would only proceed if it could be played in accordance with its regulations regarding security and safety.
"This is not the first time we have faced such a situation," said UEFA general secretary Gerhard Aigner.
"We will follow developments closely and, as usual, consider all matters in order to take a fair decision no later than Monday."
Juventus was reported to be extremely concerned about the prospect of playing in Istanbul.
The Turin-based club said it had asked for charter flights taking fans to the match to be canceled and had withdrawn Italian tickets for the game.
"We're doing all we can to ensure that the team doesn't meet with any problems," a club spokesman said.
Juventus coach Marcello Lippi said he was monitoring the situation but trusted UEFA to make a correct decision.
"For the time being, I'm concentrating on Sunday's match against Empoli but of course I'm keeping an eye on the news," he told reporters.
"I'm convinced that the situation is in the hands of intelligent and responsible people who aren't going to put our lives at risk," he said.
"Maybe we won't have to go to Istanbul to play," he said.
