Italian football clubs united in agreement over completing season

Italy‘s top-flight football clubs all want the beautiful game to return in time to finish the current season, it was announced on Tuesday.

All 20 Serie A teams unanimously agreed they should try and complete the 2019-20 season – currently at a standstill because of the coronavirus outbreak, the league said on Tuesday.

Previously, several clubs, including Sampdoria and Torino, had opposed carrying on – while Brescia went further, saying it would prefer to forfeit matches rather than take to the field. But clubs that have been archrivals on the pitch have now buried their differences.

“The Serie A general assembly met this morning and confirmed, with a unanimous vote of all 20 clubs connected by video conference, the intention to complete the 2019-2020 football season, if the government allows it to take place,” Serie A said in a statement.

Europe’s other top leagues and their governing body, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), are “in clear agreement” that their season needs to be completed, said Al Jazeera sports correspondent Lee Wellings.

“But the prospects of matches being played, even behind closed doors, still appears unlikely for many weeks,” he added.

“Serie A clubs are seeking clarification from the Italian government about the conditions needed to resume training, potentially in early May. And that encapsulates the position football is in, in Italy and beyond – the intention is there to complete seasons, but the permission and safe conditions that demands are making any firm return dates fanciful.”

The historic league, which draws fans from all around the world and generates huge revenues for its clubs and sponsors, not least through television broadcast rights, said the resumption of play would take place “in compliance with medical protocols for the protection of players and all professionals”.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has also said it wants the season to finish, even if it takes until the autumn. 

Officials from the FIGC and Serie A are due to meet government representatives on Wednesday.

The FIGC has said that, if the season was simply called off, there could be an “avalanche of litigation” from clubs that felt they had lost out.

There are still 12 of the 38 rounds of matches to play, while several teams also have outstanding matches from earlier rounds.

Juventus lead with 63 points from 26 games, one ahead of Lazio while Lecce, SPAL and Brescia occupy the three relegation spots.