Serie A ‘hopes’ to resume on June 13

Elche won’t train

ROME, May 14, (AP): The 20 teams in Serie A agreed Wednesday to resume competition on June 13 in empty stadiums.

The date is subject to approval by the Italian government, however.

“With regard to the restart of sporting activity, it has been indicated, with respect to the decisions of the government and in compliance with the medical protocols to protect the players and staff, the date of June 13 for the resumption of the league,” the league’s governing body said in a statement.

Earlier, Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said full team training will restart on May 18 after a revised medical protocol was approved amid the coronavirus pandemic. The clubs have already resumed training on an individual basis.

Players and backroom staff will be closely monitored and tested and if one person tests positive for COVID-19, the whole club will have to go into quarantine for two weeks.

Serie A has been suspended since March 9, when the government ordered a nationwide lockdown.

There are 12 rounds remaining in Serie A, plus four matches that were postponed from the 25th round. Also, the Italian Cup is in the semifinal stage.

Players from Spanish soccer club Elche did not return to practice on Wednesday as a protest against reduced salaries.

The players for the second-division club were supposed to practice at the team’s stadium but decided to keep training at home to show their discontentment with the team’s decision not to lift the furloughs that had been put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.