If they win and second-placed Lazio fail to beat Inter Milan at the San Siro, Napoli will win the title.

Runaway leaders Napoli’s match was meant to be on Saturday, before Lazio’s match at 11:30 BST on Sunday.

Officials in Naples had made the request as they had been worried about public order in the city

They were worried about the huge celebrations on Saturday if Napoli won their game – at the same time as a major comic book convention, which is expected to draw big crowds, is happening in the city.

There would have been a huge party again on Sunday if the title was secured.

Naples Prefect Claudio Palomba said on Thursday “the need arose to avoid events overlapping in order to help the police”.

“Had we kept the match on Saturday we would have had to double our resources and for that reason we have adopted a number of measures,” he added.

Napoli have only ever won the Serie A title twice before, both in the days of legend Diego Maradona – who their stadium is named after these days, in 1987 and 1990.

If they do win the title this weekend – they are 17 points clear of Lazio – it will be in record-breaking fashion. No side has ever been crowned Serie A winners with six games to go.

“I don’t like to celebrate in advance,” boss Luciano Spalletti said. “If we all do it together there will be twice as much joy.”

There won’t be any more arguing with line judges over calls at tennis tournaments on the ATP men’s tour as of 2025 — because there won’t be any more line judges at those events by then.

The London-based ATP announced Friday that it will use Electronic Line Calling Live — known as ELC Live — for all “out” calls in all matches beginning two years from now. Each match still will be overseen by a chair umpire, but the line judges who used to be entrusted with determining where shots landed will no longer be present on court.

It represents the next step toward relying on technology for line calls in a process that gained speed at the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals, when ELC Live was first tried on the men’s tour. A spokesperson for the WTA women’s tour did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding any plans for electronic calls at its tournaments.

Line judges were used at fewer and fewer sites during the coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020, including at the Australian Open and U.S. Open, Grand Slam tournaments that are not run by the ATP and thus do not need to adhere to the tour’s policies.

Electronic systems have been used mainly on hard courts and grass courts, but the ATP said its new policy will include every surface, including clay courts.

Some in the sport, including the French Open, where main-draw play begins on May 28, have resisted switching away from humans making calls because tennis balls leave marks in the clay  that can be used to determine where a shot hit the ground.

“This is a landmark moment for our sport, and not one we’ve reached without careful consideration. Tradition is core to tennis and line judges have played an important part in the game over the years,” ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi said.

“That said, we have a responsibility to embrace innovation and new technologies,” Gaudenzi added. “Our sport deserves the most accurate form of officiating.”

Pele’ is now a word to describe ‘someone out of the ordinary’ as the three-time World Cup winner’s name was included as a new adjective in the Portuguese edition of the Michaelis dictionary.

Earlier this month, the Pele Foundation and SporTV launched the “Pele in the dictionary” campaign to pay tribute and recognise his legacy in other fields besides sport.

Having reached more than 100 000 signatures, the name of the former player, who died in December, is now an entry in the dictionary.

“pe.lé® adj m+f sm+f That or someone who is out of the ordinary, who or who by virtue of their quality, value or superiority cannot be equalled to anything or anyone, just like Pelé®,” says the dictionary entry which was unveiled at the Summit Sports event, in Pacaembu, on Wednesday.

“Edson’s nickname Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022), considered the greatest athlete of all time; exceptional, incomparable, unique. Examples: He is the Pele of basketball, she is the Pele of tennis, she is the Pele of Brazilian dramaturgy, he is the Pele of medicine”.

Pele’s family was presented with a plaque with the entry and Michaelis has already included it in its digital edition. The definition will also be included in the next printed version.

“The Pele campaign in the dictionary is one of the most original we have ever participated… His name in the dictionary is a very important piece of his legacy that will keep Pele alive forever,” said Joe Fraga, executive director of the Pele Foundation.

Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid are reportedly hoping to sign Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze from Villarreal at the end of the season.

A report from Defensa Central claims that Real Madrid want to add to their attack this summer. And 23-year-old Villarreal winger is a target for the reigning La Liga champions.

However, the move will only go through if Villarreal are ready to sell the player for a reasonable price. Chukwueze has an €80 million release clause in his contract, and Real Madrid will not trigger that. The asking price will have to be lowered drastically.

The 23-year-old winger will enter the final year of his contract at Villarreal this summer, and he could leave as a free agent next year if he does not sign an extension with the Spanish club. It makes sense for Villarreal to cash in on the player at the end of this season.

Apparently, the winger has already informed Villarreal of his decision and he wants to move to Santiago Bernabeu. Chukwueze has been one of the best wingers in La Liga this season, and he has contributed to 24 goals across all competitions. He would add a new dimension to the Real Madrid attack next season.

Carlo Ancelotti needs a specialist right-sided winger, and Chukwueze would be the ideal addition. He will add pace, flair and goals to the attack. His arrival will also allow players like Federico Valverde to play in their natural role. The Uruguayan international has had to operate as the right-sided forward often this season.

With players like Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard facing uncertain futures, Los Blancos need to beef up their attacking options. Chukwueze is well-settled in Spain, and he could make an immediate impact at Real Madrid.

Villarreal will be looking to recoup as much as they can for the 23-year-old winger. But it remains to be seen whether the two La Liga clubs can come to an agreement soon. Given his contract situation, Chukwueze clearly holds all the cards. So Villarreal will be under pressure to give in to his demands if he decided to force 

Runaway Serie A leaders Napoli could seal their third Scudetto in record fashion this weekend if they beat lowly visitors Salernitana and second-placed Lazio drop points at Inter Milan.

Victory on Saturday would move Luciano Spalletti’s side to 81 points and they will become the first team to win the title with six matches remaining unless Lazio earn their first win away to Inter in more than four years on Sunday.

Spalletti urged his Napoli players not to get ahead of themselves despite being tantalisingly close to ending the city’s 33-year wait for the Serie A title since Diego Maradona led the team to two championships in 1987 and 1990.

“I don’t like to celebrate in advance,” he said. “If we all do it together there will be twice as much joy.”

It would be unthinkable for Napoli to blow their 17-point lead at this stage but Spalletti’s caution is understandable given a tough April in which his team managed two wins in six games in all competitions.

With no other silverware to play for after Napoli were knocked out of the Champions League by AC Milan in the quarter-finals this month, Spalletti can focus on landing the domestic crown, though he will be without injured defender Mario Rui.

Salernitana have improved dramatically since Paulo Sousa took over from Davide Nicola in mid-February and have pulled well clear of the relegation scrap. They are up to 14th in the table after an eight-game unbeaten run.

INTER SLUMP

Simone Inzaghi’s Inter have slipped to sixth place after Juventus won an appeal against a 15 point deduction that sent the Turin club back up to third in the standings.

Inter are only two points off the top four but have one win in their last six Serie A games with the distraction of a Coppa Italia final and Champions League semi-final with Milan ahead.

Lazio have not lost on the road in the league since the start of January, a run of five wins and two draws in which they have scored 11 goals and conceded one, although they suffered a dispiriting 1-0 home defeat by Torino last week.

Ciro Immobile played 36 minutes against Torino days after fracturing a rib and hurting his back in a car crash, but Lazio have shown they are not dependent on the Italy forward’s goals, so manager Maurizio Sarri is almost certain not to start him.

Injury-ravaged AS Roma, who are fifth, host fourth-placed Milan on Saturday in another key match in the race for the top four with both teams on 56 points.

Defender Diego Llorente and forward Paulo Dybala are doubtful while Rick Karsdorp, Chris Smalling and Gini Wijnaldum have all been ruled out for Jose Mourinho’s Roma side, who were pushed out of the Champions League places by the Juve decision, despite winning three of their last four league games.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s seventh-placed Atalanta, who have 52 points, travel to Torino on Saturday while Juve, with 59 points, visit another mid-table side in Bologna on Sunday.