Lotito Makes Coppa Italia The Priority As Lazio Chase A Way Back To Europe

S.S. Lazio have reached the Coppa Italia semi finals, and Claudio Lotito is making it clear that the domestic cup has become a central objective in what many around the club view as an abnormal and tense season. Lazio secured their place in the last four on Wednesday, February 11, eliminating holders Bologna FC 1909 via a penalty shootout after a 1 to 1 draw at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

The timing matters because Lotito is facing the heaviest public pressure of his long presidency. A fan led petition calling for him to step aside has now passed 40,000 signatures, with the milestone confirmed in an update posted by the petition organisers on Change.org and also reported in the Rome based English language press.

Against that backdrop, Lotito was present in Bologna to back the squad in a tie that Lazio now see as a realistic route back into Europe. Italian outlet Il Messaggero is cited in multiple reports claiming the president has set aside a 2 million euro bonus to be shared among the players if Lazio win the Coppa Italia this season, effectively turning the cup into a financial and sporting rallying point.

That urgency is also driven by the league table. Lazio sit eighth in Serie A on 33 points, while sixth placed Como 1907 have 41 points and have played one match fewer. In other words, the league path to Europe looks steep, and even catching seventh placed Atalanta BC, on 39 points, is not straightforward.

So Lazio’s cup run is gaining strategic weight. They already removed AC Milan in the round of 16, then edged past Bologna on penalties to set up a semi final meeting with Atalanta. On the other side of the bracket, the semi final matchup is Inter Milan versus Como, with the final scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, 2026, according to Inter’s official club communication about the bracket.

For Lotito, the messaging is consistent: the Coppa Italia is not just a trophy opportunity, it is the cleanest lever left to protect the club’s European continuity, calm a hostile environment, and give the season a tangible target. For Maurizio Sarri and the squad, it is now a high pressure path that offers a direct reward: reach the final, and Lazio are two games away from silverware and a European lifeline in a season that has felt defined as much by noise off the pitch as by performances on it.