Serie A suspension extended to June 14

Posted Tuesday, May 19, 2020 by Goal.com

The June 13 target has been pushed back following a decision by the FIGC in alignment with a prime ministerial decree

Serie A will remain suspended until at least June 14, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has confirmed.

The Italian top flight has been on hold since March 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It had been hoped it would be clear to resume on June 13, which clubs selected as the target return date last week.

They returned to team training on Monday after receiving permission from prime minister Giuseppe Conte.

However, the authorities declared on Monday that the league will now not be able to restart until June 15 at the earliest.

The FIGC's decision is in alignment with that of the Italian government, with a prime ministerial decree suspending "sporting events and competitions of all types and disciplines, in public or private places" until June 14 as part of "urgent measures to contain the contagion throughout the national territory".

There have been nearly 226,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Italy with over 32,000 deaths.

Italy recorded 99 new deaths on Monday, its lowest daily toll since early March.

While teams are back in training this week, Parma announced on Saturday that two of their players have been placed in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19.

The following day, Inter revealed that all of their players, coaches and staff tested negative for the virus.

There are 12 weeks left to the Serie A campaign and reigning champions Juventus sit top of the table with a one-point lead over Lazio, while Inter are a further eight points adrift in third place.

While the season was cancelled in Belgium, Netherlands and France, the rest of the continent's top divisions are hopeful of finding a way around the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bundesliga became the first major European league to resume when games started again on Saturday, while Serie A, Premier League and La Liga are all working towards a return.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said recently that he expects the rest of the season, including the Champions League and Europa League campaigns, to be completed by August.

"We have an idea but we have to wait for the executive committee of UEFA to confirm the dates. I can say that the European season will be finished, if everything is as it is now, in August," Ceferin said.

"As things look now, I'm sure that we can finish the European season and this means UEFA competition."