Atalanta vs Cagliari preview - Fiery Cellino lets rip

Posted Sunday, January 20, 2013 by PA

Cagliari president Massimo Cellino directed his anger at the authorities once again ahead of their trip to Atalanta, with Roma the subject of his ire for a second time.

Cellino has been at odds with Roma throughout a fractious Serie A campaign. The ill-feeling began when league authorities awarded a 3-0 walkover victory to the capital club when Cellino defied orders to deny supporters access to the unfinished Stadio Is Arenas.

The outspoken entrepreneur directed a tirade at both the Giallorossi and the authorities when a subsequent appeal was unsuccessful, and this week saw Roma's activities cause further frustration in Sardinia.

A league game between the sides, scheduled for February 3, was originally brought forward by two days due to the Six Nations, angering Cellino who had taken the Rossoblu to Parma for a league game when the Is Arenas failed safety checks.

Roma then progressed to the last four of the Coppa Italia, causing the game to be temporarily pushed back by four weeks to February 27 and prompting a fiery open letter from the Cagliari chief.

Quoted in the La Repubblica, the letter read: "I am writing to report a serious incident which could distort the rest of the championship.

"The Lega had moved the Roma-Cagliari game back to February 1 from February 3 because of the unavailability of the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

"We have already protested that decision, especially in the light of what happened with the Stadio Is Arenas, when we were forced to play Juventus in Parma.

"The heavy damage sustained to us was then made even worse when the game was postponed to February 27 after Roma qualified for the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia.

"We ask you to look for another solution, such as identifying another ground to play the fixture at on February 3."

As a result of Cellino's appeal, Cagliari were permitted to host the game on February 1.

Cagliari emerged from the relegation zone with a 2-1 victory over Genoa last time out but the islanders have not won in Bergamo since 1991.

Defenders Lorenzo Ariaudo and Sebastian Eriksson will not feature, with midfielder Andrea Cossu serving a one-match ban.

Injured quartet Daniele Capelli, Gian Bellini, Guido Marilungo and Stefano Lucchini are all unavailable for Atalanta as both Carlos Carmona and Cristian Raimondi serve one-match bans.

The Nerazzurri are without a win in four attempts and coach Stefano Colantuono was left aggrieved by a possible handball before Sergio Floccari's goal in Lazio's 2-0 victory last weekend.

"I can't say much about the goal-line officials, only that they're supposed to be there to give us a hand, but they didn't help at all," he said.