A day after both the German Bundesliga and Spanish La Liga reportedly moved closer to restart dates, the Italian Serie A has taken the next step in its process.
The league announced Tuesday that all 20 Serie A clubs unanimously agreed to try and complete the 2019-20 season. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak affecting most of the world, the league has been in a standstill since March 9th.
“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,” a league statement said.
It is an improvement from the league after both Sampdoria and Torino had opposed carrying on while Brescia stated it would prefer to forfeit matches rather than take to the field. Should the league resume, it will occur “in compliance with medical protocols for the protection of players and all professionals.”
However, should the Italian Government decide against the resumption of the league, then it is likely the rest of the season could be canceled.
Officials from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Serie A are due to meet government representatives on Wednesday while many clubs plan to return to socially distanced training by May 4th.
There are 12 rounds of matches left to play, while several teams also have make-up matches to reschedule. Defending champion Juventus leads the Serie A table with 63 points from 26 games, one point ahead of second-place Lazio.
The race for the top four is also open with Inter Milan and Atalanta currently occupying the final two spots. AS Roma and Napoli are in the final European qualification spots while Lecce, SPAL and Brescia occupy the three relegation spots.
With both the Summer Olympics and European Championship postponed until 2021, the Serie A clubs would have an open summer for matches if needed.
Juve winning the league. Should they risk lives to see that was going to happen?