President of Lega Serie A, Paolo Dal Pino, responded to the accusations made by Inter CEO Beppe Marotta in an interview with Italian media outlet Gazzetta.it today.
“On Friday De Siervo and I proposed to Inter to move the match against Juventus to Monday night to play it with a crowd. Inter categorically refused to take to the pitch, they need to take responsibility and not talk about sportsmanship and false leagues.”
The 57-year-old Italian then spoke about why the decision was made to postpone the games.
“Marotta represents Inter’s needs, I protect the general interests of the entire Serie A, which unfortunately suffers daily conflicts of interest linked to each team. I have to promote the Italian league and its image in the world, broadcasting matches in empty stadiums would have been a bad look for the country.”
Dal Pino took responsibility for the decision.
“The decision is mine by statute, but the clubs involved have been spoke to on the phone, so we know the positions of each other, it’s difficult to reconcile. We act with a sense of responsibility to protect the fans and the right of everyone to attend the matches, including the broadcasters’ need to broadcast images of full and festive stadiums. The invitation I make to everyone is to think like Serie A, not individually.”
He discussed why the decision to postpone the games was made so late.
“After a week of intensive consultations and a lack of clarity on the health situation, it wasn’t until Friday evening that we learned that the stadium doors would reopen in three regions as early as midnight today, making the picture completely different from the previous one.”
Dal Pino spoke about 13th May, the day that has been chosen to play the postponed games, and why it was chosen.
“Of course, this was the only free formal date for all ten teams involved due to commitments in national and international competitions. Starting tomorrow, the managing director De Siervo will discuss things with the teams involved in order to speed up the timescales together.”
Finally, Dal Pino touched on whether the decision has now undermined the regularity of the league.
“We had to make decisions guided by the good of the nation. We will try to find ways to contain other upheavals that were required of us by the government for emergency needs. But I remember that abroad, particularly in the Premier League, it often happens that teams have to recover more matches after weeks because of the numerous cups. Let’s not make drama where there isn’t any.”
Inter have now missed their last two league games due to the postponements, creating a gap between them and their rivals at the top of the table. Lazio are now first place, eight points ahead of the Nerazzurri, but only because they have not had any of their games postponed so far.
