Napoli president De Laurentiis takes aim at 'ultra' fans and sends warning to Allegri

ROME — Two Serie A trophies in the last four years.

Five other domestic cups.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is proud of what he has accomplished since rescuing the club from bankruptcy and starting in Serie C more than two decades ago.

Yet he also wants more. Much more.

De Laurentiis discussed plans for a new stadium that he hopes would be more attractive to families by keeping out hard-core “ultra” fans and sent a warning to coach Massimiliano Allegri while collecting an award recognizing his career in sports at the Foreign Press Association on Wednesday.

A film producer, De Laurentiis is one of the last Italian owners of Serie A’s biggest clubs.

New stadium

Napoli currently plays in the dilapidated Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, which is owned by the city and where sight lines are poor due to a running track.

“I have a letter of intent signed a month ago by which in eastern Naples we’ve found 38 hectares (94 acres) where I’ve planned a 70,000-seat stadium with 120 sky boxes, plus restaurants and an interactive museum,” De Laurentiis said.

However, city officials have proposed renovating the Maradona stadium in time for the 2032 European Championship that Italy is co-hosting with Turkey.

‘Ultras’ out

De Laurentiis has had issues with the “ultras” for years and most recently made an attempt to prevent the hard-core supporters from bringing banners inside the stadium.

“Soccer should be about passion and participation. It has to be educational for kids. You can’t have hooligans … or ‘ultras’ that are moulded from the Mafia, ’ndrangheta and Camorra,” De Laurentiis said, listing three of Italy’s organized crime syndicates.

“Until our police chiefs and government ministers get the situation under control it’s a major problem.”

Coaching carousel

Despite the recent success, De Laurentiis has employed five different coaches since Luciano Spalletti left after leading Napoli to the Serie A title in 2023 — its first championship since the days when Diego Maradona played for the club more than three decades earlier.

De Laurentiis was asked about Spalletti and his response could be interpreted as a warning to Allegri, Napoli's current coach, too.

Allegri is already under pressure after Napoli has won only two of six matches since he was hired to replace the departed Antonio Conte.

“Coaches need to understand that they are workers hired to direct an orchestra of footballers," said De Laurentiis, who often clashes with his coaches. "But they’re still employees. Sometimes they forget that."

Too many matches

Despite being Serie A champion at the time, Napoli didn’t qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup. And De Laurentiis doesn’t sound very enthusiastic about the possibility of his club playing in the 2029 edition, either.

Because there are too many matches.

Chelsea, which won the Club World Cup, and finalist Paris Saint-Germain played 64 and 65 matches, respectively, that season.

“In order for UEFA and FIFA to survive, they’re reducing the importance of the national leagues, which are the core of fan support in every country around the world,” De Laurentiis said. “Players are not physically or psychologically capable of supporting that type of load.

“But nobody wants to stop it because the people in charge produce votes with it.”

Infantino 'doing his job'

Still, De Laurentiis stopped short of criticizing embattled FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has faced calls to resign after exploring a plan whereby private investors would have purchased shares in the World Cup and other competitions.

“Infantino is doing his job,” De Laurentiis said. “He’s allowed to travel the world wearing the FIFA badge to meet (President Donald) Trump, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and everyone else.”

“The important thing,” De Laurentiis said, “is that he remains intellectually honest.”