Italian Minister of Sport Vincenzo Spadafora discussed the restart of the Serie A season in an interview on the TV Show ‘Twelfth on the field 2019/2020 – Second half’, hosted by Italian broadcaster Seilatv Bergamo earlier today.
“The news of these contagious cases in some football teams does not bode well. Until we understand what the health reports will say, we cannot give a certain answer. The keyword, also used in the recent meeting with the CTS, was ‘caution’. Obviously, what has happened in the last few hours does not help.”
He then discussed the fans who were against restarting this season, with some claiming that their opposition is out of respect for those who have been affected by Coronavirus.
“I’m a romantic, this sport lives thanks to the passion of the fans. Imagining a match without fans is bad, if the season were to restart it would certainly be behind closed doors and it would be strange. We have to understand how to organise ourselves for next autumn and how to manage this passion of the Italians with the times, which have changed.”
Spadafora touched on whether season ticket holders should be compensated.
“I know that several teams have already made a move. I don’t know what the clubs will want to do, it’s something that concerns them and not the government. The reimbursement would certainly be a nice gesture on the part of the clubs.”
The Minister of Sport spoke about the controversy of restarting the season and how important it is financially for Italy.
“In our country football moves a lot of money compared to other sports and this becomes the decisive factor. It is a great economic industry, and this is very important. These are the two sides of the coin that have led to the many controversies of the last period. This is an opportunity to change football, to regenerate it and to review a list of priorities and lifestyles.”
He touched on how football and other sports could be reformed as a result of the Coronavirus and its effects.
“There are those who delude themselves into thinking that that after this emergency, which I hope will pass as soon as possible, we can go back to doing the same things as before, having not understood the seriousness of the situation throughout the world. I hope this could be the right opportunity to see reform in football and sport. I will do everything I can to make this happen.”
Finally, Spadafora spoke about a possible date for a restart of the season and what discussions are currently ongoing.
“Next week, before May 18th, we will be able to understand, always on the basis of the analysis of the curve, the trend of contagions after this first period. Soon we will receive the response of the Technical-Scientific Committee on the health protocol adopted by the FIGC and we will understand if the doubts expressed by the CTS have been overcome or unfortunately remain. These two things will allow us to make a decision.”
Serie A is hoping to follow in the footsteps of the German Bundesliga, which has already been given a restart date of the 16th May.
