The coronavirus situation in Italy has shown the first signs of improvement in the last few days – but make no mistake, it is still dire.
People are still locked inside their homes with little to do other than watch TV, stream movies, play games at the All Jackpots Casino, and wait for the good news to come. The stress of the lockdown is aggravated by the fact that football – and all other live sports – are missing from TV, which is especially dire in Italy, a famously football-loving nation.
All football matches were suspended by the Italian government from March 9 – initially, the suspension was meant to end by April 2nd but, due to the evolution of the pandemic, it was extended. So, let’s take a look at if and when Serie A will return to the screens.
Lockdown Until May 3rd
As of this week, there are still more than 100,000 active coronavirus cases in Italy, and it has among the highest mortality rates in the world. The authorities don’t expect to loosen any of the strict distancing mandates until May the 3rd – and all depends on the evolution of the pandemic until this date.
“If we gave up now, we would put all the positive results achieved so far at stake and restart with a new rise in the death toll,” PM Giuseppe Conte told the press on April 10. This, of course, means that…
No Football Until Earliest May 4th
The Serie A was supposed to end on May 24 – but it was cut short by the oncoming disease. There literally hasn’t been any organized football in Italy since March 9, leaving the season with 12 matchdays still in the air.
This has cost the league a great deal of money. According to recent estimates, the economic impact of the pandemic on Serie A is about 700 million euros – the loss of revenue from broadcasts alone has risen to 450 million. The league officials even suggested that, if the season won’t resume, player salaries should be cut by a third to attenuate the economic impact of the pandemic.
While we can only categorize this as “wishful thinking” right now, it’s worth mentioning that FIGP president Gravina has expressed his hopes that the players can resume training on May 4th. If the lockdown is eased, of course.
In this case, this year’s Serie A season could resume by the end of May or the beginning of June – this timeframe is, in turn, fluid at this time. The games would, of course, be “ghost games” played behind closed doors, without spectators. Some suggest that all the games should be held in four cities, excluding the Northern regions that were hit hardest by the disease.
The post Is It Realistic To Expect The 2019/2020 Serie A Season To Resume? appeared first on Sempreinter.
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