Serie A to discover fate after government meeting today

Serie A’s hopes of following Germany and Spain back on to the pitch will be decided today in a meeting with the Italian government.

Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora will tell representatives from the Italian football federation and Lega Serie A if the health conditions are right to return to action.

The season has been on hold since March 9 with Italy among the first nations to witness mass spread of coronavirus infections with more than 33,000 people deaths.

Clubs returned to group training on May 19 but competitive action remains suspended until mid-June.

The indications are that Spadafora and a government committee will agree to implementing a health protocol to resume the season.

If there is a green light, organisers will meet tomorrow to examine “the different calendar hypotheses” with a June 13 restart as possibility.

But not everyone agrees to a return to the pitch. The packed schedule requires teams to play three matches a week, in hot conditions. Brescia and Torino are opposed to a return, situated as they are in the northern regions of Lombardy and Piedmont respectively, which accounted for nearly 60 per cent of Italy’s Covid-19 deaths.

“To finish this championship is forcing it in my opinion,” Brescia captain Daniele Gastaldello said this week. “It’s risking the safety of the players.” Brescia are last in the league and have nothing to gain by a restart.

“I would prefer it to stop and start calmly next season,” said Italy manager Roberto Mancini.” There is going to be an endless series of matches and I don’t know what state the players will be in.”