Serie A will resume season on June 20, gets green light from Italian sports minister
Serie A has joined the party of sports leagues announcing their restart dates.
Vincenzo Spadafora, Italy’s sports minister, confirmed to the media on Thursday that the country’s top soccer league will resume its season on June 20. Play was initially suspended on March 9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spadafora virtually met with a number of Italian soccer authorities on Thursday, including representatives from the Italian Football Federation, Serie A, and the players’ association, and announced the restart date after the meeting had concluded.
“The meeting was very useful,” Spadafora said. “Now Italy is starting again and it is right that soccer starts again too.”
The restart date is welcome, even if it’s a week later than planned. All 20 teams originally agreed earlier this month to restart the season on June 13, but that plan was scuttled when the Italian government issued a decree mere days later that extended the nationwide lockdown until June 14.
Spafadora also confirmed that there are backup plans in place in case there is a second wave of infections. “If the curve changes and the league has to be stopped again, the Italian soccer federation has assured me that there exists a plan B — playoffs — and also a plan C — leaving the standings as they are,” he said.
The Premier League announced Thursday that it would return on June 17. La Liga will tentatively return on June 11, and the Bundesliga has already been playing games for several weeks.
More from Yahoo Sports:
