The Italian Sports Minister, Vicente Spadafora, has agreed with the request of the president of the footballers' unions of the country, former player of Levante Damiano Tommasi, of the immediate suspension of Series A. “It makes no sense at this time to put the health of players, referees, technicians and fans at risk that they will surely meet to watch the matches just for not temporarily suspending football and defending the interests that revolve around them. “It should be remembered that Italy has decreed the isolation of 16 million people because of the spread of coronavirus. The Government prohibits the entrances and exits in Lombardy and other 14 provinces of the country and it meditates the massive hiring of sanitary personnel.
Today, five championship matches are scheduled, but the first one, the Parma-Spal, was postponed. in full confrontation between clubs and government. Finally, it was decided that the crash would start an hour and a quarter later than expected.
This morning, Spadafora received a letter from Tommasi, also sent to all the leaders of the country and football, in which he requested to stop Series A. Spadafora noted that “Other Federations have wisely opted to stop over the next few days. I think it is the duty of the president of the Italian Federation, Gravina, to reflect, and not wait for the first case of contagion, before assuming this great responsibility. “
Spadafora also recalled the rejection of the League to the open broadcast of all the matches of the championship during the health alert: “After all, even before the situation became so dramatic for the country, Serie A and the Sky League had already refused to grant thousands of Italians, forced against their will to stay at home, the possibility of watching the games, hiding behind presumed regulatory difficulties that could have been overcome to a large extent with the goodwill of everyone. In fact, thanks to the collaboration of Rai and Mediaset, the various contacts approached a fair solution for all the actors and, above all, for the citizens passionate about football. Instead, the economic interests of entities that have always enjoyed privileged treatment and now live outside of reality prevailed. “
Football clubs evaluate how to overcome punitive clauses that are already known to the antitrust authority to reimburse season tickets and tickets sold for the next matches.
Atalanta may travel to Valencia, but its access will depend on Spain
The new decree approved by the Italian Government, which prohibits the entry and exit of the Lombardy region to limit the spread of the coronavirus, does not affect Atalanta, that being a professional club he has the right to travel to Valencia this Monday to play the round of the knockout stages of the Champions League, although his entry into Spain “will depend on the competent authorities” from this country.
This was explained by the expert lawyer in sports law Angelo Cascella in an interview granted on Sunday to EFE, in which he stressed that it will be the competent authorities of Spain responsible for giving approval to the effective access of Atalanta in Valencia.
“The Government assured that the training and sports competitions of professional athletes can continue to playIn fact, Series A will continue, which means that, a priori, Atalanta will be able to travel to Valencia, “Cascella said in conversation with EFE.
“Then it is up to the governments of the countries to make the final decision on whether they can access”he added.
The second leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Valencia and Atalanta will be played this Tuesday at 9 pm in a Mestalla stadium behind closed doors, after the first leg, played at the open door in San Siro, ended with a 4-1 victory for the Italian team.