Serie A Season May Not Finish, Says Italian federation News

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Serie A Season May Not Finish, Says Italian federation

By Daily Sports on March 11, 2020

The Italian football federation (FIGC) said after a meeting on Tuesday that the Serie A season may not finish because of the coronavirus outbreak.

A FIGC statement confirmed that Serie A would stop until 3 April following a government decree issued on Monday.

FIGC president Gabriele Gravina also put forward alternative options if the season cannot be concluded.

They include staging play-offs, not having a champion for 2019-20 or declaring the current standings final.

Play-offs would take place to determine the champions, European qualification and the three clubs to be relegated to Serie B.

But if the title winner is decided by the current standings then Juventus would be Italian champions for a ninth straight season, having gone back above Lazio with a 2-0 win over third-placed Inter Milan on Sunday.

Five games took place on Sunday before Sassuolo won 3-0 against Brescia on Monday, with all matches taking place behind closed doors.

As it stands, there are 12 full rounds of matches still to be played, plus another four fixtures which have been postponed, and the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

The alternatives are due to be discussed at a meeting of the federal council on 23 March.

Should the season resume, it was also proposed at Tuesday's meeting that clubs take advantage of all available dates until 31 May.

The last season that Serie A did not have a champion was 2004-05, when Juventus were stripped of the title following the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.

The title winner was previously decided by a play-off in 1964, when Bologna beat Inter Milan after the two sides finished level on points. (BBC)

•PHOTO: Juventus players

Source Daily Sports

Posted March 11, 2020