Lega Calcio: Clubs agree to play
The Serie A and B Championships will kick off again at the weekend after clubs ruled out a proposed strike.
Officials from the top two tiers of Italian football entered into lengthy talks this afternoon where they decided to play – despite a host of games being closed to fans.
The Italian Government’s strict new stadium regulations, introduced after the death of a policeman during the Catania riots last week, had caused discomfort among some Presidents given that dozens of stadia up and down the country would not be permitted to open their doors to supporters.
Numerous sides, such as Napoli and Livorno, had suggested possible strike action in an attempt to protect the rights of at least their season ticket holders.
However, it seems that a compromise was reached this evening between clubs and Italian Football Federation commissioner Luca Pancalli.
"We demonstrated great maturity by deciding to play," stated Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani, whose Rossoneri outfit will have to appear in front of no tifosi against Livorno on Sunday.
"If a law is passed then we must respect it. Our stadium wasn’t outside of the law, it is just that the legislation was passed before our renovation work could be completed."
Galliani has also confirmed that Newcastle and Geneva have stepped forward as possible venues for their Champions League tie against Celtic, should the San Siro also be shut in Europe.
Although action will resume this weekend, Torino President Urbano Cairo has admitted that playing games behind closed doors is not ideal. "It’s not really suitable to take such steps when it comes to football," he noted.
Lega Calcio chief Antonio Matarrese was relieved that the threat of strike action failed to materialise. "It was a hell of a day," he commented. "But we decided to play to show how serious we are about these matters and I’m proud of what we have achieved.
"All of the Presidents eventually agreed with the stance we have taken which underlines great responsibility.
"We’ll now form a commission made up of four Serie A and four Serie B Presidents who will want to meet with the stadium verifiers as soon as possible.
"We have to play on, with sadness in our heart, in the hope that this terrible tragedy will be of some use to the country."
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Giuliano Amato has assured fans that the closed door policy could be a relatively short solution – if clubs get their issues resolved. "I’m now expecting the stadiums to meet the required standards relatively quickly," noted the politician on Thursday.
"Putting in a few turnstiles is not a NASA mission to the moon and it isn’t that expensive either.
"There may be a few problems between clubs and local councils who run the risk of paralysing each other.
"But if a couple of games are played with no fans then I’m sure that a positive agreement can soon be found between the two."
Serie B will resume on Saturday, while A clubs will play on Sunday. There will be no more evening kick-offs for the rest of February.
Source: C4 Football Italia
Officials from the top two tiers of Italian football entered into lengthy talks this afternoon where they decided to play – despite a host of games being closed to fans.
The Italian Government’s strict new stadium regulations, introduced after the death of a policeman during the Catania riots last week, had caused discomfort among some Presidents given that dozens of stadia up and down the country would not be permitted to open their doors to supporters.
Numerous sides, such as Napoli and Livorno, had suggested possible strike action in an attempt to protect the rights of at least their season ticket holders.
However, it seems that a compromise was reached this evening between clubs and Italian Football Federation commissioner Luca Pancalli.
"We demonstrated great maturity by deciding to play," stated Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani, whose Rossoneri outfit will have to appear in front of no tifosi against Livorno on Sunday.
"If a law is passed then we must respect it. Our stadium wasn’t outside of the law, it is just that the legislation was passed before our renovation work could be completed."
Galliani has also confirmed that Newcastle and Geneva have stepped forward as possible venues for their Champions League tie against Celtic, should the San Siro also be shut in Europe.
Although action will resume this weekend, Torino President Urbano Cairo has admitted that playing games behind closed doors is not ideal. "It’s not really suitable to take such steps when it comes to football," he noted.
Lega Calcio chief Antonio Matarrese was relieved that the threat of strike action failed to materialise. "It was a hell of a day," he commented. "But we decided to play to show how serious we are about these matters and I’m proud of what we have achieved.
"All of the Presidents eventually agreed with the stance we have taken which underlines great responsibility.
"We’ll now form a commission made up of four Serie A and four Serie B Presidents who will want to meet with the stadium verifiers as soon as possible.
"We have to play on, with sadness in our heart, in the hope that this terrible tragedy will be of some use to the country."
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Giuliano Amato has assured fans that the closed door policy could be a relatively short solution – if clubs get their issues resolved. "I’m now expecting the stadiums to meet the required standards relatively quickly," noted the politician on Thursday.
"Putting in a few turnstiles is not a NASA mission to the moon and it isn’t that expensive either.
"There may be a few problems between clubs and local councils who run the risk of paralysing each other.
"But if a couple of games are played with no fans then I’m sure that a positive agreement can soon be found between the two."
Serie B will resume on Saturday, while A clubs will play on Sunday. There will be no more evening kick-offs for the rest of February.
Source: C4 Football Italia
posted by italian calcio blog at 6:52 pm
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