Italians deny Supercup Beijing date

The Italian Football League denied on Tuesday that a date in Beijing had been set for next season’s season-opening Supercup despite earlier reports to the contrary.

Italian Ambassador to China Riccardo Sessa had announced the match between Inter Milan and AS Roma would take place in Beijing on August 21.

However the Football League said: “We want to stipulate that we have not yet taken any decision with regards the location or date for the match.”

The stumbling block appears to be Inter’s commitment to play Atletico Madrid in the European Supercup in Monaco on August 27.

Inter are unwilling to play in China just six days before their Monaco date.

“The reality is that we told the Football League that we can’t play the Italian Supercup in China on August 21 because we have to play the European Supercup in Monaco on August 27,” said Inter director Ernesto Paolillo.

The Football League said a final decision on the domestic Supercup date would be taken in the next few days.

Last season the Supercup was played in China where Lazio beat Inter 2-1.

The Football League has an agreement to stage a certain number of Italian Supercup matches in China over the coming years.

Inter qualified for the event by winning both the league and cup while Roma finished runners-up in both competitions.