Maradona Stadium still shut to disabled fans, Paglia slams Naples | OneFootball

The new championship is just around the corner, but for fans with disabilities, the situation at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples remains unchanged. Despite promises and institutional meetings, the facility is still not fully accessible.

Maradona Stadium, structure still inaccessible to the disabled: Gianfranco Paglia's accusation shakes Naples

Raising the issue is Gianfranco Paglia, lieutenant colonel, Gold Medal of Military Valor and captain of the Paralympic Sports Group of Defense.

The accusation: "Unfulfilled promises, disabled still excluded"

Paglia expressed his deep disappointment in a statement that leaves no room for interpretation:

"Once again, disabled fans are excluded from the Maradona Stadium. I had direct meetings with Mayor Gaetano Manfredi and the city administration, who had guaranteed funds for the adaptation work. Yet, nothing has been done. The championship is about to start and those who should be included are left out."

The military then harshly attacked the political management of the issue:

"Thanks for turning inclusion into a propaganda slogan, making Naples a city that marginalizes instead of welcoming. I hope that a concrete agreement will soon be reached to make the stadium accessible to all, without distinction. Sport is a universal right: it unites, it does not divide."

A matter of civilization and rights

The case raised by Paglia highlights not only an infrastructural problem but a matter of civil rights: the enjoyment of sports events by people with disabilities. The Maradona Stadium, the venue of Naples' big nights, risks becoming a symbol of a city that promises inclusion but struggles to achieve it.

The interventions promised by the City Council were supposed to guarantee the adaptation of spaces for disabled spectators, but to date, no concrete work has been registered. A situation that, if not resolved in a short time, risks opening legal fronts and damaging the city's image at national and international level.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.