LAZIO SACKS PETKOVIC AND NAMES A NEW COACH

Vladimir Petkovic has officially been relieved of his duties as coach of Serie A side Lazio with Edoardo Reja employed as his replacement.
Reja has been leading training for the past week, but has only now been confirmed as the Biancoceleste's new coach. Petkovic was dismissed "for just cause" after breaching the terms of his contract by agreeing to take over as coach of Switzerland after the World Cup, according to the Rome club.The Bosnia-Herzegovina-born coach's contract was terminated on Saturday "at the conclusion of a disciplinary proceeding" into the 50-year-old's signing of a contract with the Swiss FA.He had been given five days to explain his actions, but failed to convince the Italian club that he had acted correctly."The events which have occurred have determined the termination of the deed of trust which forms an essential element of the working agreement," read a statement on the SS Lazio website."The club announces that Edoardo Reja has been entrusted with the responsibility for the first-team squad. He will be assisted by Mr Alberto Bollini and Mr Adriano Bianchini."Reja will take his place on the Lazio bench for their clash with Inter Milan on Monday, returning to the club he left in the summer of 2012, having guided them to a fourth-place finish and a place in the Europa League.Lazio are currently 10th in Serie A, 11 points behind fifth-placed Inter. They face Ludogorets in the last 32 of the Europa League next month.