ROME - Having set a restart date after a lengthy coronavirus
lockdown sounds like good news for cash-strapped Serie A clubs, who,
however, face a few more hurdles on the way to full competition.
"June 13, let's play," Il Corriere dello Sport headlined on Thursday,
specifying, as all the other newspaper did, that "the last word is on
the government."
More than two months since the last top-flight game was played on
March 9, the 20 clubs on Wednesday picked the mid-June date to begin
playing the 12 remaining rounds in empty stadiums.
Government and domestic federation, meanwhile, reached an agreement
to resume team training next Monday.
Individual workouts at camps have been allowed since May 4, with
medical exams and frequent tests programmed to monitor possible
infection of footballers and staff.
The safety protocol adopted by the federation will now see teams
train together in isolation at their camp for at least two weeks,
with further planning depending the government's cautious approach as
it monitors the infection, which killed 195 people on Wednesday
alone.
Early tests, meanwhile, found four positive cases at Sampdoria and
three at Fiorentina. All were said to be asymptomatic and
quarantined, bringing the total of infected Serie A players to 23.
After Monday, however, a positive case will extend the isolation
period of the entire squad for two more weeks from the day the
infection is found.
This seems to imply that a team won't be allowed to play games in
case of a positive shortly before or once action has resumed.
The measure has also irked team medics, whom the protocol considers
legally responsible for damages suffered from players during the
retreat.
"We have already alerted our lawyers to make their observations on
the protocol," Enrico Castellacci, who chairs the team doctors
association, said this week.
"Once away games begin, the risk of infection is higher. With one
case the league is blocked. This raises perplexities on the real will
to restart. (The government) should let us know if they really want
it."
Clubs' balances, meanwhile, have been hit by the interruption.
Players hace accepted pay cuts but more damage could come from
negotiations with television broadcasters.
Sky and DAZN, who reportedly are yet to pay a last instalment of 233
million euros (251.5 million dollars) for the current season, are
said to be seeking a discount, given the months without games.
Despite financial troubles, Brescia, Torino and Sampdoria have been
lukewarm about recommencing the season, while some groups of fans
have flatly opposed it.
Banners against the restart were displayed last week from Roma fans,
one reading: "Some die and suffer while others make money: stop the
league."
Brescia, Atalanta and Torino supporters also displayed banners near
stadiums as hundreds of fans groups across Europe issued a joint
statement to criticize the resumption of leagues.
"We strongly ask [European governing body] UEFA and the national
associations to keep the stop and stop the football competitions
until crowding the stadiums is once again a habit free of risks for
public health," the statement said.