Cagliari to play rest of home games in Trieste

"Cagliari will finish the season in Trieste," general director of the Serie A club Francesco Marroccu was quoted in La Gazzetta Dello Sport as telling a Sardinian news report which will be broadcast later on Friday.

The club were due to present plans to Serie A which would allow access to the ground for 4,800 people, but Marroccu is reported as saying they have "no intention of presenting any project" because the requests being made "aren't acceptable".

Cagliari, who also played some games in Trieste during the last campaign, moved to the Is Arenas stadium five km outside the city this season after abandoning the dilapidated Stadio Sant'Elia due to disagreements with the local authorities and safety worries.

But since the move, Cagliari's stadium woes have continued with rows between the club, local authorities and Serie A.

Cagliari president Massimo Cellino was arrested and charged with embezzlement and false representation over the rebuilding of the stadium along with the mayor of Quartu Sant'Elena, where the Is Arenas is located, and a councillor.

The small Is Arenas ground, which hosted third-tier matches in the 1980s, has only one permanent stand.

Three temporary stands were built but Cagliari's first match against Atalanta this season had to be staged behind closed doors after local authorities ruled the venue was not ready.

The following match against AS Roma was cancelled by the Cagliari city government after the club defied its orders to play the fixture without supporters.

Cellino told fans the ground was safe, invited them to turn up for the game and criticised the city government for placing bureaucratic obstacles in the club's way.

Roma were awarded a 3-0 win but the club president won a court case which could lead to the game having to be played after all.

Cagliari were banned from hosting a game against champions Juventus and had to switch the fixture to Parma.

A match against AC Milan on Feb. 10. was initially due to be moved to Turin amid security worries but eventually went ahead at Is Arenas after a regional tribunal ruled it was safe, while last week's 2-1 win against Fiorentina was played at the ground behind closed doors.