Juventus-Torino derby moved to avoid Superga anniversary

The date of next month’s Juventus-Torino derby has been changed to avoid the match being played on the 70th anniversary of the Superga air disaster.

The Serie A league had originally scheduled the match for May 4 but confirmed in a statement on Friday that it had been brought forward by one day.

Eighteen Torino players and officials were among 31 people killed in the accident on May 4, 1949, when their plane crashed into the Superga hill near the city in poor weather while trying to land.

The team, returning from a friendly match against Benfica in Lisbon, was the finest in the club’s history, winning the Serie A title five seasons in a row and forming the backbone of the Italian national side.

Torino president Urbano Cairo had argued that it was wrong to play the match on that date and it was in the interests of “those who love football to find the right answer”.

Meanwhile, AC Milan and the club’s players Tiemoue Bakayoko and Franck Kessie have been fined a total of €86,000 (RM400,000) for holding up Lazio defender Francesco Acerbi’s shirt like a trophy after Saturday’s 1-0 win over their Champions League rivals, according to Italian media.

Milan agreed with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on a

payment of €86,000 — €33,000 per player and €20,000 for the club, Gazzetta Dello Sport and

Sky Sport Italia reported.

The fine was cut by a third as Milan agreed to pay it immediately.

Acerbi had angered the Milan pair when he said there was “no comparison” between the teams before the game.

He said swapped his shirt with on-loan Chelsea midfielder Bakayoko “to put an end to the issue” but was furious when they held it aloft on front of Milan’s fans afterwards.

Both apologised with the Ivorian Kessie, whose penalty sealed the win, insisting it was “just a joke, nothing more”.