Plenty of Liverpool supporters have already paid for flights and accommodation so that they can be in attendance for the upcoming Champions League clash with Napoli.
The Reds are scheduled to travel to Italy on Wednesday, October 3 for their second Group C game but Napoli are hinting at a potential change of venue for the match.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has already asked Uefa if they can play their home European games this season in Bari, 160 miles away from their usual home stadium in Naples.
An ongoing issue with Napoli’s San Paolo stadium has prompted De Laurentiis to request a switch of grounds because the current stadium, which is owned by the local council, does not meet Uefa’s seat requirements.
In recent seasons, Uefa have granted the Serie A side an exemption to host European ties at the Stadio San Paolo but that exemption may not be given this year because Napoli failed to fulfill a promise to replace their seats over the summer.
If that exemption doesn’t come, Napoli could be forced to look for an alternative venue and, with Bari’s 58,00-capacity San Nicola stadium the front-runner, travelling Liverpool supporters may be forced to amend their travel plans.
“For me, it’s a nightmare. Such a bad stadium limits the status of Napoli at an international level,” De Laurentiis told Corrierre dello Sport at this week’s European Club Association summit.
“It’s a shame. For this reason, I say enough: I don’t want any more controversy, so I’ll build my own stadium.
“And that’s that. We can’t go on like this anymore. Nobody can tell you to do anything if you put in your own money and have the land to build a stadium.
“In the meantime, I’ve asked Uefa to authorise us to play Champions League matches at Bari.
“I’ll pay for 1,000 buses out of my own picket so Napoli fans can attend the match.”
SportsJOE understands that Uefa say they have not received a request from Napoli to move the game with Liverpool, who have had no discussions with the Italians/UEFA about a potential switch. They expect the game to be at Stadio San Paolo.
