All the clubs in the Italian Serie A are set to restart the 2019-2020 season as the majority of the clubs voted that the season which has been halted since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, should restart on June 13.
The representatives of the clubs met on Wednesday via video conference. They subjected the dates which would be ideal for the season to restart into voting. 16 clubs out of 20 voted that the season can restart on June 13 while the remaining 4 clubs voted that the league should restate on June 20th.
Since the majority of the clubs went for June 13 as the resumption date, the date automatically became the ideal date for the resumption of the season.
Most of the clubs voted for June 13 as the date to restart the season because it will give the clubs enough time to complete both the Serie A season and the Coppa Italia before UEFA’s cut-off point of August 2.
“Regarding the resumption of the sporting activity, in accordance with the decisions of the Government and in compliance with the medical protocols to protect players and all involved personnel, the date of June 13 has been indicated for the resumption of the league,” a Serie A statement said on Wednesday.
The league still has about 12 rounds of matches to complete the season with four outstanding matches which are yet to be played. Before the coronavirus pandemic halted the season, Juventus has been topping the league table with a point.
Now that the clubs have decided on when it will be ideal to resume the season, it is now left to the government of France, led by the Prime Minister of the country Giuseppe Conte, to take his stand on the chosen date. He has earlier stated that he would base his decision on whether to resume the season or not on Italy’s coronavirus curve.
Hence, Italian FA has to wait until next week to get an official reaction from the government before the date can be said to be sacrosanct or otherwise.
Stringent medical protocol for Serie A
Before the date was agreed upon, Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora confirmed that a medical protocol has been agreed by the government and the Italian FA to allow Serie A teams to resume group training from May 18.
In the protocol, if a player tests positive for the coronavirus, the whole squad will have to isolate for two weeks, unlike in Bundesliga where it will be only that player that tested positive that will self-isolate.
This has been the talking point by many pundits who believe that the season may be almost impossible to complete with such a rule in place.
