Serie A given green light to resume on 20 June

Date: 28th May 2020 at 7:53pm
Written by:

The Italian football federation (FIGC) has confirmed that Serie A will resume on 20 June, with the Coppa Italia completed in the week prior.

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy, domestic football has been on hold since Sassuolo’s 3-0 victory over Brescia in Serie A on 9 March.

However, with infection rates steadily decreasing and strict protocol in place, an agreement has been reached for a resumption of play. During a videoconference with the FIGC and Lega Serie A on Thursday, sporting minister Vincenzo Spadadora confirmed that football can restart next month.

With a government decree barring all professional sporting events until 14 June, Spadafora was required to seek dispensation from Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte to allow football to restart from Saturday 13 June.

With this granted, the second legs of the Coppa Italia Semi-Finals will be played on 13 June and the Final on 17 June, and league action will begin the following weekend. It is expected that the resumption will see four outstanding fixtures from Week 25 played first, to allow all 20 Serie A teams to fulfil 26 matches each.

This would see Atalanta v Sassuolo, Hellas Verona v Cagliari, Inter v Sampdoria and Torino v Parma kick off the schedule. It would then allow Serie A to continue as normal from Week 27.

The FIGC’s protocol has been ratified by the CTS (scientific technical committee) and will see a maximum of 300 people permitted in a stadium during a match, whilst home team players will arrive at games in their own vehicles. Away teams will travel to games in multiple coaches where possible.

Meanwhile, quarantine rules will remain in place that will enforce teams to train in an isolation retreat for 14 days should one positive case be reported within the squad or coaching staff.

Juventus currently lead Serie A by a single point, with Lazio occupying second spot in the standings.

In the Coppa Italia, Napoli lead Inter 1-0, whilst Juventus and AC Milan played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their respective ties.

 

Comments are closed.