The 2026 Italian Open (Roma Masters) final will be held on May 17 local time, which clashes with the Roma derby, and the two venues are almost next to each other, sharing the entire Foro Italico sports area. In order to compromise, the Serie A League proposed to change the derby to kick off at 12:30 noon.
Sarri fiercely criticized the Serie A League at the press conference after the last Serie A game: "At the beginning of the season, we played the derby in the high temperature of 37 degrees, and now they want us to play at 12:30 noon in May. This is an insult to Roma, to the two Roma clubs, and to the fans, and someone must pay the price. I hope they will not let us play at that time, even the person who made this suggestion should leave."
The Lazio coach has always dared to speak frankly, and he continued: "I want to ask the Serie A League, why not let Internazionale play Milan at 12:30? The date of the tennis final was known two years ago, and it is also customary for the final day to be held at the same time. If the person who arranges the schedule does not understand this, he should resign immediately."
Italian Tennis Federation President Benaghi said: "Adjust the time of the Roma derby for the tennis final? The final was set two years ago to be held at that time of day. I think it is time for the football world to realize that for the benefit of the fans - the current tennis audience is as large as the football audience - the Italian Open and the ATP Finals held in Roma and Turin respectively must be taken into account when planning the league schedule."
Benaghi then explained that he would never choose to have the derby on that day: "That's for sure. If I were De Siervo (Serie A League CEO), I would have changed the derby to the day before, like Turin did before, when they staggered Juventus' match against Turin with the ATP finals. In short, there are thousands of ways to plan the schedule: if you can meet a wise manager, things can be done, otherwise..."