Vincenzo Spadafora, Italian
sports minister, assured this Thursday that the Government is seeking an
agreement with the country's Football
Federation (FIGC) on the protocol for the resumption of training and that
if it is not found, it will order the final closure of the Serie A for the 2019-2020 season.
"These days the Scientific Technical Committee is
meeting with the various parts of the world of football, not only with the FIGC, to deepen the protocol that it
presented to us. If we find an agreement, the training sessions may be resumed
and this will also be positive for the eventual resumption of the championship,
"said Spadafora in an interview on national television" Rai ".
"Otherwise, the Government will decide, for reasons of
an obvious health emergency, to close the championship, creating, as far as
possible, the conditions so that the world of football has the least possible
damage," he added.
Spadafora stressed that, in the latter case, the Government
will assume its responsibilities and called for "the controversy to end
now, because football must be a symbol of carefreeness, passion and fun."
At the moment, the government considered insufficient the
protocol presented two weeks ago by the FIGC, in which it was requested to
resume training on May 4, and prohibited activity in the sports centers of football clubs until May 18.
This decision was strongly criticized by the Italian soccer world and the president
of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, assured late on Wednesday that he would refuse
to sign the final closure of the season.
"I protect the interests of the world of soccer and I
refuse to sign a total blockade of the season, except if objective conditions
linked to the health of the players, coaching staff and collaborators exist,
but someone has to tell me clearly and should prevent me keep going,
"Gravina said late Wednesday after participating in an online event hosted
by Ascoli Calcio.
