Celtic may be Swiss-bound for clash with Milan
Geneva appears the most likely city to stage the crunch last-16 match, which follows 15 days after the first leg is played at Parkhead.
Newcastle’s St James’ Park emerged as another possible host stadium for the March 7 match between the Scottish champions and Italian giants Milan.
The San Siro, home to Inter and AC Milan, has been closed to supporters indefinitely because it is considered to have safety inadequacies which could take until October to resolve.
Only six Italian football grounds will be opened to supporters this weekend, a knock-on effect of the violent events in Catania which led to the death of policeman Filippo Raciti last Friday.
Turnstiles will be operated at only five Serie A matches this weekend, and Milan’s home match against Livorno will be watched by only a small group of club officials.
A statement from Italy’s interior ministry revealed that six football grounds, including the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and the Stadio Olimpico in Turn, met the required safety standards, with 25 declared to have “inadequacies”.
Milan’s former Rangers midfielder, Gennaro Gattuso, has questioned the point of playing football behind closed doors.
Gattuso, 29, said: “Fans are important and we cannot do without them. Otherwise it would be better to close everything down. How can a football club exist without fans?”
Meanwhile, Scotland’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy is likely to be moved from Bari after the Serie B club’s San Nicola stadium was among those closed to fans.
No firm decision has yet been taken on whether to find a new venue for the Group B clash on March 28, although Rome would appear the most practical option.
Only Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, Genoa’s Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Turin’s Stadio Olimpico, Palermo’s Stadio Renzo Barbera, Siena’s Stadio Artemio Francho and Cagliari’s Stadio Sant’Elia have been given the green light to stage matches so far.
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