The President of Italian Football Federation Gabriele Gravina said he is worried because if football does not start again, there would be problems in the future.
Recall that all major leagues across the world, including Italian Serie A, have been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic which has been ravishing the world.
Most league bodies and football federations have been lamenting over their losses from not playing live matches which are the major source of revenue for clubs are league bodies.
But the pandemic which has put football on hold since March is not looking like it will end anytime soon as the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths linked to coronavirus are increasing daily.
In this light, the President of Italian FA, Gravina, told Italian national media, RAI, that resumption of football is very critical despite the ravishing pandemic.
But other stakeholders in the football federation will not let him have his way so easily despite the fact that the 66-year-old football administrator believes that the continuous suspension of football is killing the game in Italy.
He said: “At this moment there are two apparently opposing groups: the school of thought that believes that all activities should be closed to the world of sport and the other one, of which I am part of, which beliefs in resuming.
“Football moves about five billion euros. Stopping today would be a disaster but we are worried because if football does not start again, there are problems for the future.
“A choice of this type would lead to unprecedented responsibilities. I cannot be the undertaker of Italian football.
“I have to defend football and I do not understand the resistance to not starting, with all the guarantees possible, a reorganisation of the entire sports movement…
“The football federation’s medical-scientific commission has established a protocol that has been sent to the Ministry of Sport and Health that guarantees the element of a closed group, so I don’t understand the worries.
“As for swabs and tests, there are clinics available. This cannot be an obstacle for restarting football.”
The hurdle before Gabriele Gravina
Gravina and his good intention for football is now a matter of the safety of people against the survival of the round leather game.
The most likely approval he might get from the Italian government is an approval to play the matches behind closed doors and he does not have a problem with that.
However, his wish for the resumption of the league might be almost impossible at this time because even if the pandemic is over today, it might take the country weeks to get itself together after recording over 23,000 deaths in two months due to the pandemic.
